18 House Republicans Call on Johnson to Keep Part of Inflation Reduction Act

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

A group of Republican congressional members has called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to keep the energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act if the GOP gains unified control of Congress and the White House next year.

In an Aug. 6 letter, the 18 lawmakers acknowledged that President Joe Biden’s signature legislation, which passed in 2022, is “deeply flawed” but pleaded to keep some of the tax credits. The lawmakers heard from constituents who invested in projects that would be undermined if the current tax regime were to be “turned on its head.”

The measure invested $369 billion in energy security and climate measures, according to the Senate Democrat conference.

While they called for U.S. energy independence and dominance and noted the United States’ effort to keep emissions low, the lawmakers wrote that U.S. companies rely on energy tax credits.

“We hear from industry and our constituents who fear the energy tax regime will once again be turned on its head due to Republican repeal efforts,” they wrote. “Prematurely repealing energy tax credits, particularly those which were used to justify investments that already broke ground, would undermine private investments and stop development that is already ongoing.”

Repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, they said, would make the money invested in energy tax credits a waste.

“Energy tax credits have spurred innovation, incentivized investment, and created good jobs in many parts of the country—including many districts represented by members of our conference,” they said.

The lawmakers called for a policy that embraces all types of energy.

The Inflation Reduction Act included provisions related not only to renewable energy but also the IRS and health care. It also included a 15 percent minimum corporate tax that is projected to raise $313 billion, according to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. No Republicans voted in favor of it.

Johnson’s office didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

Lawmakers on Record

The lawmakers who signed the letter were Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), David Valadao (R-Calif.), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), Erin Houchin (R-Ind.), Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), Young Kim (R-Calif.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.), David Joyce (R-Ohio), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), and Mark Amodei (R-Nev.).

E&E News, which covers energy and the environment, first reported on the letter.

More than 3.4 million Americans utilized $8.4 billion worth of energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act during the 2023 tax season, the Treasury Department announced on Aug. 7.

“Investments in clean energy and energy efficiency benefit households by lowering and stabilizing their monthly utility bills, and all Americans by mitigating climate change and air pollution,” the department said.

The legislation was projected to raise $739 billion, according to the Senate Democrat conference.

In a 2022 statement, Garbarino ridiculed the Inflation Reduction Act after it passed, lamenting the “over $400 billion for the ‘Green New Deal.’”

Curtis, who is all but guaranteed to be the next senator from Utah, wrote in a statement that the legislation “pick[s] winners and losers in the energy space at the cost of innovation.”

Numerous lawmakers—including Valadao, Chavez-DeRemer, Kiggans, Kim, D'Esposito, and LaLota—are facing difficult reelection battles in swing districts.

On the other side in the House GOP conference, members such as Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) are pushing to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. In February 2023, he put forth legislation to do so. It has 24 co-sponsors, all Republicans.

Several months ago, the House GOP put forth a measure to send $14 billion in assistance to Israel following the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, offsetting the same amount in IRS funding. The Senate and White House objected to the measure.