August 2, 2022
Last week, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin announced he struck a deal with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in support of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).
Reliable Energy Inc.’s CEO Matt Bell released the following comments over the weekend in response to the devastating announcement:
“The more we learn more about the reconciliation package negotiated by Sen. Schumer and Sen. Manchin, the more disappointed we are. The energy package that Sen. Manchin has agreed to will make American energy more expensive and less reliable. Senator Manchin is embracing an energy plan that includes almost every key provision of the Green New Deal after promising Americans he was fighting for an all-of-the-above solution that would promote America’s energy independence and energy security. Make no mistake about it, the IRA is a gut punch to the men and women working every day to provide American homes and industry with the fossil fuel generated base-load power it needs to operate.
“The IRA will increase America’s dependence on foreign energy sources, further weaken our fragile energy grid by subsidizing intermittent power sources, and will make the power necessary to run American businesses and heat and cool American homes more expensive.
“Americans are now mired in a recession while we struggle to cope with the worst inflation in 40 years. The IRA promises to make bad matters worse for Americans and American businesses facing some of the most significant economic headwinds of the 21st century.
“We encourage every United States Senator and Congressional Representative to stop this madness before it’s too late. For the sake of the country, please choose to leave the IRA on the ash heap of history, go back to the drawing board, and pass legislation that addresses the very real challenges too many Americans are facing.”
Additional information on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022:
The Penn Wharton Budget Model, which Sen. Manchin has been known to watch and highly trust, examined the details of the deal struck by Schumer and Manchin and found that it doesn’t contain any net deficit reduction until 2027.
An analysis by Congress’ bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation found that in 2023, taxes will increase by $16.7 billion on American taxpayers earning less than $200,000—a nearly $17 billion tax targeted solidly at low- and middle-income earners next year.
By 2031, when the new green energy credits and subsidies provide an even greater benefit to those at higher incomes, those earning below $400,000 are projected to bear as much as two-thirds of the burden of the additional tax revenue collected that year.
The JCT also found that 49.7% of the tax would hit U.S. manufacturers.
