Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday hailed the success of the Inflation Control Act's clean energy tax credit and argued that any effort to roll it back would be a “historic mistake.”
“Some people want to eliminate the credits that I talked about today,” Yellen said at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, N.C. “As we can see so clearly in North Carolina, this would be a historic mistake.”
Yellen noted that 90,000 households in the state have taken advantage of the IRA home tax credit, claimed $100 million in residential clean energy credits and $60 million in residential energy efficiency credits.
“Reversing policy could increase the burden on working families at a time when we urgently need to continue taking steps to lower prices,” the Treasury Secretary said.
“It could jeopardize the significant manufacturing investments we see here and across the country and the jobs that come with them, many of which don't require a college degree,” she added, referring to the IRA's clean energy tax incentives for businesses.
“And that could benefit China and other countries that are investing to compete in these critical industries,” Yellen continued.
The IRA passed Congress without Republican support in 2022, but some Republican lawmakers have similarly expressed concerns in recent weeks about eliminating the law's clean energy tax credits.
A group of 18 House Republicans sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) in early August urging him not to target the tax credit if Republicans maintain or expand their House majority next year.
They suggested that removing the credits could hurt growth in the energy sector, where companies have already started investing on the assumption that the credits would be maintained.
“Energy tax credits have spurred innovation, encouraged investment, and created good jobs in many parts of the country, including many districts represented by members of our conference,” the Republicans wrote.
“We must reverse policies that harm American families while protecting and improving policies that make our nation more energy independent and enhance the energy security of Americans,” they added.
