Democrats scrambling to convince GOP to save green credits
Senate Democrats are ramping up pressure on Republicans to try to protect swaths of their 2022 climate law as the GOP races to advance their party-line megabill.
The situation has Democrats trying to influence legislation they have no intention of supporting. Whether they succeed is another question altogether.
'I have been talking nonstop with [Republicans] and companies,' said Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). 'I believe we are picking up support. … We have a lot of executives weighing in. We have a lot of senators starting to get concerned about the fact energy prices are starting to rise and the consequence of walking away [from clean energy tax credits] will reduce choices and reduce competition.'
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Wyden said he's zeroing in on Southern senators because of the interest in renewable energy sources. Texas, for example, is a leader in renewable energy production.
'They made a lot of headway under the law I wrote in 2022,' Wyden said of renewables, expressing confidence Republicans understood the importance of preserving the 'technology neutral' credits.
It's part of an effort by Democrats as they try to find their footing in the current political landscape, balancing fighting President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans on cuts to Medicaid while trying to find common ground elsewhere.
There may be an opening. Some Republicans have indicated their discomfort with accelerating the demise of some green energy subsidies, though one Southern Republican vocal about protecting some climate law credits, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, said Monday he hadn't heard a word from Democrats.
The House-passed budget reconciliation bill included a sharp phase down of federal incentives for wind, solar, hydrogen and other energy sources — while sparing biofuels and nuclear power.
It also added strict requirements barring companies associated with China from accessing tax credits, a provision which many consider unworkable. Wyden called changing that provision 'hugely important.'
In recent weeks, Senate tax writers have been trying to hash out their portion of the legislation, with the self-imposed July 4 deadline fast approaching. The Finance text could be released later this week or early next.
That means it's crunch time for Inflation Reduction Act defenders to make their case. Several Senate Democrats told POLITICO's E&E News on Monday they felt encouraged by the conversations they've had in recent weeks.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) planned a breakfast about the topic for Tuesday morning, Punchbowl News reported Monday, saying he's enlisted utility companies in the effort. The outlet said Schumer was focusing on 16 Senate Republicans whose states would be disproportionately targeted if the credits disappeared.
'There's such a vulnerability — the impacts are so deep and devastating — and that's one of the reasons I'm pushing it,' Schumer told the outlet.
'A lot of conversations'
Schumer has said he wants to apply pressure to his Republican colleagues, understanding that peeling away just a few votes might sink the whole effort.
'There are a whole number of Republicans, particularly those that have a lot of clean-energy investments in their states, who really didn't like what the House did,' Schumer told POLITICO last month. 'And the question is: Will they be able to put enough pressure on [Majority Leader John] Thune, or even vote [with us] on some amendments?'
Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who was in the House during the last Congress, said the wooing of Republicans has been front and center.
'We certainly have had a lot of conversations with the auto industry and a lot of conversations with our Republican colleagues who care about the auto industry,' she said Monday.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) also said he was involved in conversations with Republicans. Asked how the conversations were going, he said, 'I don't know yet.' Asked who he was talking to, he said, 'Why would I say that?'
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said he was 'hopeful' about the future of the climate law credits' fate, given Republicans are big believers in producing more energy.
'I don't know what the White House is thinking, but if you kill these tax credits, you are not going to be able to grow the economy the way they want to grow the economy. … You need energy,' he said. 'They seem to understand that part.'
'We're besieged'
Utah Sen. John Curtis, who has been among the Republicans pushing for changes, said there's been considerable pressure from industry for about a month.
'I think it's fair to say we're besieged by people wanting to talk to us about the tax credits … more than we can possibly see,' he said. Curtis said he's been hearing from Democrats, too.
Tillis was unmoved by any pleas from Democrats. 'I have not heard a bit from them,' he said. 'I don't know why they would think it's relevant. They have no interest in voting with it.'
But Tillis did seem to think the utilities would have an interest in weighing in. 'They are in the mix in some of these, too,' he said, specifically pointing to 'investor-owned utilities in particular.'
Several groups — including the American Critical Minerals Association, the Battery Materials & Technology Coalition, Clean Energy for America, the Conservative Energy Network, Impact Capital Managers, Securing America's Future Energy and the Solar Energy Industries Association — fired off a new letter to Senate Republicans Monday. SAFE is also running an ad campaign.
And even though nuclear and biofuels fared much better in the House bill compared to other energy sources, boosters are pushing for more flexibility.
Last week, a group of House Republicans led by Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) sent a letter to Senate GOP leaders urging them to make major changes to the bill they had voted for.
But House GOP hard-liners want the IRA repeals to go even further. A new House Freedom Caucus missive Monday urged the Senate to 'hold the line' on the tax credits.
'The House is very different from the Senate. Senators spend a lot of time talking to their major employers,' Wyden said.
'There was a lot of awareness that we avoided mandates,' Wyden said about the 2022 climate law. 'We created opportunities to encourage innovation. The more you reduce carbon, the bigger your tax savings. We did a lot of groundwork.'
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