The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced a Republican bill to slash funding for climate change mitigation programs Wednesday morning after more than 24 hours of debate.
The bill would cut funding from climate initiatives established by former President Joe Biden‘s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed by Democrats. The committee’s legislation would cancel up to $6.5 billion in unspent funding from the IRA.
The committee’s bill, which also includes major provisions overhauling Medicaid and other programs, is part of a larger process to pass sweeping legislation that would enact President Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending agenda. The GOP plans to pass the multitrillion-dollar legislation through budget reconciliation, a process that allows bills to bypass the filibuster and be approved with a simple majority in the Senate.
Democrats submitted several amendments to undo some of the provisions in the Republican bill and to delay the process. However, the GOP majority shot down their amendments.
The bill would reclaim funds from the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants program, which was established by the IRA and offers financial and technical support for environmental and climate justice initiatives.
The Environmental Protection Agency was tasked with awarding grants under the program. The Trump administration has sought to slash programs and funding regarding environmental justice.
Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA) introduced an amendment to save the program, arguing that it helps guarantee clean air and water in low-income communities.
However, Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) argued that environmental justice harms poor communities.
“So I kind of get how it is to live in a rural area and not have a whole lot, but I think sometimes environmental justice is really a way to keep poor people poor,” Palmer said.
He referred to Pembroke Township, Illinois, where environmental justice groups insisted that the city reject building a natural gas pipeline. Palmer said the pipeline would create jobs.
“Did I hear the member say that environmental justice is a way to keep poor people poor? Environmental Justice is a way to keep people alive, to give people the opportunity and have the audacity to want to breathe clean air and drink clean water, and to live in an environment where, yes, they can eat and they can have a job, but they can also live,” Carter argued.
The committee did not pass the amendment.
Committee Democrats also introduced amendments to upend the GOP provision to speed up the permitting process for energy development projects, particularly those in the oil and gas industries. The provision, which is mirrored in the Natural Resources Committee’s portion of the reconciliation bill, would allow developers to pay a fee for expedited reviews. Democrats have criticized it as a “pay-to-play” policy.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) proposed an amendment to order the Energy Department’s inspector general to ensure that the policy would not increase the risk of corruption, but it did not pass.
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The legislation would also cut funding for the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program, which provides grants for clean energy projects nationwide, specifically in low-income areas. Trump’s EPA has targeted the program, saying the Biden administration structured it to avoid accountability, including by routing the money through Citibank.
The bill would also terminate the “unobligated balance” of IRA funding from the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, essentially slashing the office’s loan authority to pre-Biden administration levels.
