Though the news this weekend was dominated by coverage of the U.S. military strikes in Iranian nuclear facilities, the legislative battle over President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” continues apace.
However, Trump is none too pleased with the current status of a number of clean energy initiatives within the Senate’s version of the bill, preferring the more significant cuts contained in the House iteration, as the Washington Examiner reports.
Trump takes aim
The president took to his Truth Social platform on Saturday to lash out at the situation, stating, “I HATE ‘GREEN TAX CREDITS’ IN THE GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL. They are largely a giant SCAM.”
He continued, “I would much prefer that this money be used somewhere else, including reductions. ‘Anywhere’ would be preferable.”
Trump went on, “Windmills, and the rest of this ‘JUNK,’ are the most expensive and inefficient energy in the world, is destroying the beauty of the environment, and is 10 times more costly than any other energy.”
“None of it works without massive government subsidy (energy should NOT NEED SUBSIDY!), he added.
Urging the legislature to distance itself from prior administration priorities in this realm, the president declared, “It is time to break away, finally, from this craziness!!!”
Senate version of bill spurs debate
The impetus for Trump’s post was the release by the Senate Finance Committee of its own version of the measure already passed by the House.
According to the upper chamber’s iteration are Trump’s desired repeals of renewable energy tax credits for wind and solar, but they are not as stringent as those approved in the lower chamber.
The Senate bill is marked by slower phase-outs of clean energy credits as well as additional grants of relief for alternative energies such as nuclear, hydropower and geothermal processes.
While Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) stood up for wind energy, calling it “an important tool for America’s energy independence,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) opined that “offshore wind farms benefit foreign companies — not the residents of Maryland’s First District.”
Harris stated, “We should never allow foreign owned offshore wind companies to control our energy supply – much less harm our marine life while doing it,” echoing some of Trump’s concerns.
More battles yet to come
Green energy is not the only area of dispute putting the bill’s fate in potential jeopardy, with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) stating that the measure does not do enough to tame the federal deficit and noting, “We’ve got a ways to go on this one.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) shares Johnson’s fiscal concerns, and though he long marked himself as staunch opponent of the package, recently revealed that he is not necessarily “an absolute no,” provided concessions about the debt ceiling vote can be secured, but whether either lawmaker’s wishes can be accommodated in sufficient fashion to gain their vote, only time will tell.
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Author: Sarah May
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