The U.S. Senate is struggling to pass its version of the budget reconciliation bill, which, if left unchanged, would slash funding for public safety net programs and investments in the burgeoning clean energy economy, all to pay for billionaire tax breaks.
Below is a statement by Gretchen Goldman, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
“At a time when people across the country are looking to lawmakers for real solutions to real crises, this bill would instead steal from families struggling at the margins, costing jobs, billions of dollars in clean energy and transportation investments, and maybe even lives, while stuffing the pockets of the wealthy. The Senate must reject this legislation.
“Among the cruelest aspects of this bill is a plan to cut billions of dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Millions of Americans depend on the SNAP program to help feed themselves and their families, and it is unconscionable that Congress would take food assistance away from struggling families to fund tax breaks for billionaires.
“Meanwhile, the bill would sink tens of billions of dollars into the ‘Golden Dome,’ a hugely expensive, unrealistic, and counterproductive anti-missile system. UCS analysis has shown that such systems are technically challenging to build and readily defeated, as well as globally destabilizing and likely to lead to less security, not more.
“The irrationality doesn’t end there. Lawmakers are taking a hack saw to the country’s clean energy and clean transportation industries simply to score political points. The tax credits and incentives Congress is now cutting have been enormously successful, not only putting a dent in heat-trapping emissions but increasing domestic manufacturing and supply chains, bringing hundreds of thousands of jobs to states across the country, and hundreds of billions of dollars in investments. Eliminating these policies is nonsensical, especially when doing so will increase transportation and electricity costs and strain the electric grid.
“Make no mistake – this bill will grow the deficit, not shrink it and be a millstone around the necks of hardworking people across the country. Senators will have one last opportunity to alter the bill in a process known as vote-a-rama. With so much at stake, it will be telling to see who votes to protect the health and safety of everyday people. Those who do not must be held accountable.
“Left unchanged, the bill should be defeated.”
For additional resources, please see the following UCS blog posts:
• “With Proposed Budget Bill, House Crushes Clean Energy—And Risks Creating an Actual Energy Emergency” by Julie McNamara, energy analyst and associate director of policy for the Climate and Energy Program
• “Very Few People Will Benefit From the New EV Tax Credit. That is By Design.” by Dr. Dave Reichmuth, senior scientist with the Clean Transportation Program
• “The Future of US Battery Manufacturing is At Stake” by Dr. Jess Dunn, scientist with the Clean Transportation Program
• “Big and Backwards on Transportation: Three Things to Know About Congress’s Reconciliation Bill” by Clean Transportation Program Director Steven Higashide