Press Releases

Rapid Analysis: House GOP’s Proposed Clean Energy Repeal and What it Means for the Affordability Crisis

Press Contact: Seth Nelson

To: Interested Parties
From: Evergreen Action Policy Team
Date: Monday, May 12, 2025
Re: Rapid Analysis: House GOP’s Proposed Clean Energy Repeal and What it Means for the Affordability Crisis

Author’s Note
The Republican House Ways and Means (“W&M”) Committee is expected to release bill text soon that could attempt to repeal critical clean energy and climate tax credits. The Evergreen Team will update this blog with fresh analysis once that additional text is released.  


After weeks of working behind closed doors on their budget reconciliation bill, House Republicans are finally releasing draft legislative text ahead of the committee markup process. These proposals, across various committees, are not only expected to make devastating cuts to Medicaid and food assistance, but would also gut clean energy, climate, and environmental justice programs that are reducing costs, creating jobs, and improving public health across the country. 

Let’s not mince words: Republicans are trying to raise your energy bills and destroy thousands of American jobs—simply to pad the pockets of billionaires, fossil fuel executives, and their top corporate backers with massive tax cuts.

We’ve compiled our policy analysis of the Republicans’ proposed bill text (from the Energy and Commerce, or E&C, committee) below to explain how these sweeping cuts will harm your pocketbooks, health, and planet.

Background

But first, some context: Back in 2022, Congress passed transformational clean energy investments as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). These investments were strategically designed to make energy bills more affordable, revitalize American manufacturing, and create millions of good jobs for working Americans, while cutting pollution. But House Republicans are now unleashing a full-scale attack on these historic investments, even though the lion’s share of the benefits from these investments flow to GOP districts. They’re targeting critical programs like clean energy tax credits, advanced manufacturing tax credits, Environmental Justice Block Grants, and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF).

Simply put, the GOP’s E&C bill is an affront to American communities struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, working people trying to support their families, and those living in sacrifice zones with polluted air and water. Let’s take a closer look at the devastating cuts proposed by the Republican E&C Committee.

Toplines: How Are  House Republicans Planning to Harm Climate and Energy Programs? 

  • Republicans claim to be cutting at least $6.5 billion in funding for climate and clean energy programs that benefit American households, alongside proposing devastating and shameful cuts to critical health programs. 

  • House Republicans are severely stretching the limits of the rules of reconciliation to make major regulatory impacts by attempting to repeal vehicle emissions standards required by the Clean Air Act.

  • The GOP has proposed repealing sections of the Clean Air Act and other laws created in the IRA. 

  • Key programs were completely repealed, and any unobligated funding (approved money that has yet to be legally committed for a specific purpose) was rescinded. Many of these programs have most of their money obligated but could still be impacted by repeal, including this non-exhaustive list:

    • Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

    • Environmental Justice Block Grants

    • Vehicle Efficiency and Emission Standards

    • Methane Emissions and Waste Reduction Incentive Program

    • Climate Pollution Reduction Grants

    • Department of Energy Loan Programs Office 

    • Transmission Financing

    • Clean Ports Program

    • Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment Program

  • The bill allows natural gas pipeline projects to pay a fee of $10 million to bypass the normal permitting process and then guts the normal judicial review process by severely limiting who can bring forward lawsuits. Similarly, the bill says applicants should pay $1 million for the Department of Energy to deem a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permit in the “public interest”, essentially allowing the fossil fuel industry to buy one of the necessary approvals. This makes a farce of our permitting process and essentially legalizes corruption with a pay-to-play privilege for gas pipelines.

In-Depth Policy Analysis 

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

The $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) is the largest grant program within the IRA. This $27 billion is divided into three programs: the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF), the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), and Solar for All. Not only does this program provide a significant investment in pollution-reducing clean energy technology, but it also benefits communities that have been historically overlooked and underserved, bringing greater equity to the clean energy transition. For months, the Trump administration has waged an unsubstantiated assault on this fund. At every turn, the administration has been unable to justify its attacks to undermine this program, failing to offer evidence to support its bogus claims of fraud, waste, or abuse.

Changes in the Reconciliation Bill: Republicans have proposed repealing section 134 of the Clean Air Act and rescinding all unobligated balances in the GGRF program.

Impacts: The GGRF is unlocking a historic wave of public and private investment, delivering local economic development opportunities that would not have materialized without this program, especially in disadvantaged communities. But the Trump administration has already been attacking the GGRF through an illegal funding freeze, and a court battle is currently raging with program awardees, in particular the NCIF and CCIA programs. The GGRF funding has technically been obligated, and only minimal GGRF funds remain unobligated and available for rescission. But the E&C proposal would harm program implementation and oversight at EPA. It may also represent an attempt by Congress and the administration to block or claw back funds that have been legally obligated. 

Environmental Justice Block Grants

This first-of-its-kind $3 billion federal program aims to empower disadvantaged communities to determine and design their own visions of pollution reduction and clean energy investment. The Environmental Justice (EJ) Block Grants, also known as the Community Change Grants, provide highly flexible funding that goes directly to nonprofit organizations serving these communities. This means projects are designed by and for communities to address their unique needs and build resilience to extreme weather events and environmental risks.

Changes in Reconciliation Bill: Republicans propose completely repealing section 138 of the Clean Air Act, eliminating the Environmental Justice (EJ) Block Grants program, and rescinding any unobligated funding, which would deprive disadvantaged communities of hundreds of millions of grant dollars.

Impacts: Without EJ Block Grants, there will be less financial support for on-the-ground, community-led organizations that provide life-changing services to households based in disadvantaged communities or living near sacrifice zones. Examples of critical services include community-led pollution monitoring, prevention, and remediation; projects that reduce indoor air pollution; projects to counter health risks from urban heat islands, extreme heat, and wildfires; improved community engagement in public processes; and technical assistance. 

Vehicle Efficiency and Emission Standards

The Department of Transportation (DOT) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. These standards have saved drivers trillions of dollars and drastically reduced harmful pollution from vehicles—reducing smog and health impacts like asthma and heart disease. Rescinding these standards is not allowed by the rules of budget reconciliation, but Republicans are trying to repeal them anyway. 

Changes in the Reconciliation Bill: Republicans propose repealing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) efficiency standards and the EPA’s greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger and light trucks starting in model year 2027 and efficiency standards for heavy-duty trucks starting in 2030. This action is plainly inadmissible under congressional budget reconciliation rules. The bill also rescinds any unobligated funding for the clean heavy-duty vehicles program and loans to support vehicle and vehicle supply chain manufacturing facilities.

Impacts: If Republicans successfully gut these vehicle standards, we would end up with less efficient and more polluting vehicles, burning 70 billion extra gallons of gasoline through 2050 and increasing climate pollution by more than 710 million metric tons. Eliminating these standards would increase costs by $600 over the lifetime of new vehicles. Increased pollution would lead to greater health risks (asthma, heart disease, cancer) from toxic air pollution. Attempting to repeal these rules via reconciliation would seriously stretch the limits of reconciliation by trying to set regulations via this budgetary process. 

Natural Gas Expedited Permitting

As it currently stands, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reviews applications for the construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines under the authority of section 7 of the Natural Gas Act. FERC review ensures that applicants certify that they will comply with Department of Transportation safety standards.

Changes in the Reconciliation Bill: This bill allows natural gas pipeline projects to pay a fee of $10 million to bypass the normal permitting process and then guts the normal judicial review process by severely limiting who can bring forward lawsuits.  

Key Impacts: This makes a farce of our permitting process and essentially legalizes corruption with a pay-to-play privilege for gas pipelines. Americans will be severely impacted by gas pipelines built through their communities. Medical professionals and frontline leaders have long documented the devastating health, economic, and local environmental harms from this fossil fuel infrastructure.

Rubberstamping Liquefied Natural Gas Exports

Under the Natural Gas Act, the Department of Energy (DOE) has the authority to determine whether proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to non-Free Trade Agreement countries are in the “public interest” or not. This is part of a wider review process when considering proposed LNG export facilities. 

Changes in the Reconciliation Bill: Republicans are proposing that the DOE would be allowed to determine that a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility is in the “public interest” if the applicant pays $1 million.

Key Impacts: Similar to the natural gas pipeline permitting above, this normalizes a pay-to-play privilege for LNG export infrastructure, potentially expediting the build-out of these mega-polluting projects. As DOE’s own studies show, unfettered U.S. LNG exports will hurt Americans with higher electricity and gas prices and drastically worsen climate pollution. Medical professionals and frontline leaders have long documented the devastating health, economic, climate, and local environmental harms from this kind of fossil fuel infrastructure, particularly in the Gulf South. 

Methane Emissions and Waste Reduction Incentive Program

Methane is a potent, planet-heating greenhouse gas that oil and gas operators often flare or leak into the atmosphere. That’s why Congress passed the Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) through the IRA in 2022, requiring oil and gas operators to pay a penalty fee if they exceed a certain level of methane pollution. Soon after, the Biden-led EPA introduced a rule implementing the WEC. But at the beginning of 2025, the Republican-controlled Congress voted to eliminate that rule. Now, Congress is trying to get rid of the fee outright via the budget reconciliation bill. 

Changes in the Reconciliation Bill: The bill attempts to completely repeal subsections (a) and (b) of section 136 of the Clean Air Act and rescinds any unobligated funding. The methane fee is retained, but the language is altered so that the fee is not collected until ten years from now. 

Impacts: By cutting methane pollution and other harmful pollutants, the WEC would have helped prevent asthma attacks and other health-harming impacts. The program would have reduced an extremely harmful greenhouse gas superpollutant. Altering  the WEC will disproportionately impact communities of color and disadvantaged communities. The methane fee is also a revenue raiser, so its alteration would necessitate even deeper cuts to other vital programs to comply with the GOP’s self-imposed spending cut targets.

Climate Pollution Reduction Grants

The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) are an EPA program established as part of a new Clean Air Act Section 137 created in the IRA, which provides grants to state, local, and Tribal governments to create and implement programs that reduce emissions and support jobs and communities. It was funded with $5 billion, including $250 million in planning grants, $4.6 billion for implementation grants, and the remaining balance for technical assistance and program implementation. These grants have been used to support state, local, and Tribal governments in nearly all 50 states.

Changes in the Reconciliation Bill: The E&C Committee proposes to repeal and rescind unobligated balances in the CPRG program account. At the start of the Trump administration, the CPRG program had approximately $90 million in unobligated funding.  

Impacts: Rescinding funding for the CPRG program would dramatically harm program implementation at the agency.Without these dollars, EPA staff may also be unable to process grant funding disbursements to states, cities, and Tribal nations who have received obligated funding awards. 

Department of Energy Loan Programs Office 

The Department of Energy Loan Programs Office (LPO) was created with strong bipartisan support during the George W. Bush administration, and for the last two decades, it has provided critical financing for American energy, manufacturing, mining, and other industrial projects that reduce emissions and support American leadership in the fast-growing clean energy economy. To date, the LPO has financed approximately $90 billion in innovative energy and manufacturing projects, including a $465 million loan to Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors in 2010. And at the conclusion of 2024, the LPO had collected over $5 billion in interest payments from its loans, meaning that it has made a profit for American taxpayers.

Changes in the Reconciliation Bill: The bill would rescind unobligated balances in the LPO, which currently holds billions in unspent funds used to support loans under the 1703 program that supports clean energy and industrial transformation. These changes would also impact the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program, which supports the global competitiveness of American automakers; the Energy Infrastructure Financing Reinvestment Program, which supports new clean energy generation and community revitalization for legacy energy communities; and the Tribal Energy Loan Program.  

Impacts: The E&C proposal would essentially eliminate the LPO. This would be a devastating move, especially amidst rising energy demand and a competitive global race to build and manufacture the energy technologies that will power the 21st century. Slashing the LPO would undermine American businesses and U.S. technology leadership. Not only that, over the long term, eliminating the LPO would cost American taxpayers money, as the successful program has already returned $5 billion in profit to the American taxpayer via interest on its loans.

Derailing Transmission Reform

There are several IRA programs at DOE that  support the expansion of electricity transmission infrastructure in the U.S, critical to providing affordable and reliable power for Americans. These include the Transmission Facility Financing program; Offshore Wind Electricity Transmission Planning, Modeling, and Analysis program; and Grants to Facilitate the Siting of Interstate Electricity Transmission Lines. These programs are especially important at a time of rising electricity demand, fueled by data centers to power the race for artificial intelligence (AI), increasing electrification of vehicles and buildings, and an American manufacturing renaissance.

Changes in the Reconciliation Bill: The bill rescinds any unobligated amounts for Transmission Facility Financing; Interregional and Offshore Wind Electricity Transmission Planning, Modelling, and Analysis; and Grants to Facilitate the Siting of Interstate Electricity Transmission Lines. Together, these programs held nearly $2.5 billion in unobligated funding at the beginning of 2025.

Impacts: Republicans claim to care about energy dominance and cheap energy, but this nonsensical action would sabotage efforts to make our grid more affordable, reliable, and resilient.

Clean Ports Program

The EPA’s Clean Ports Program provides $3 billion in grants to fund zero-emission port equipment and technology and to assist U.S. ports in developing climate action plans to reduce air pollutants. Grants were awarded in 2024 to 55 projects across the country that will eliminate “more than 3 million metric tons of carbon pollution, equivalent to 391,220 homes’ energy use for one year.” The vast majority of those pollution reduction benefits will be felt in frontline and disadvantaged communities in heavily trafficked port corridors.

Changes in the Reconciliation Bill: The text proposes completely repealing section 133 of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Ports Program, with any unobligated funding rescinded.

Impacts: Any cuts to the Clean Ports Program would mean more pollution at our ports, more harm to the health of our communities from toxic air pollution especially in frontline communities already burdened with higher rates of pollution-driven health impacts like asthma, and job losses from cutting these important projects already underway in states all across the U.S. 

Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment Program

The Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment Program (AIFDP) was created in the IRA and funded with over $5.8 billion to advance industrial decarbonization and support American manufacturing’s global economic competitiveness. The program has provided funds for innovative low-carbon cement manufacturing projects in Indiana, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia, for next-generation aluminum manufacturing in Colorado, for low-carbon steel production in multiple states, and much more. 

Changes in the Reconciliation Bill: The E&C Committee proposes to rescind unobligated balances from the AIFDP, which is estimated to be hundreds of millions of dollars. 

Impacts: Rescinding unobligated balances from the AIFDP program would deal a major blow to U.S. global economic competitiveness as American businesses fight for market share in increasingly decarbonized steel, cement, aluminum, and other heavy industries.

Other IRA Programs Affected by the Energy and Commerce Proposal

The Republican E&C Committee also repealed and/or rescinded any unobligated funds from the following IRA programs. 

  • Air pollution monitoring program for schools in low-income and disadvantaged communities at EPA.

  • American Innovation Manufacturing (AIM) Act that aims to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—potent greenhouse pollutants used in refrigeration, air conditioning, and other applications. The E&C proposes to eliminate funding that helps implement this important bipartisan law.

  • Funding for Efficiency, Accurate, and Timely Reviews at EPA to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and timeliness of environmental reviews, permitting, and project approvals.

  • Enforcement Technology and Public Information at EPA.

  • Environmental Product Declarations at EPA for construction materials and products. This initiative aimed to enhance the standardization, transparency, and reporting criteria for EPDs, which include measurements of the embodied greenhouse gas emissions associated with materials and products used in construction.

  • Fenceline pollution monitoring program at EPA to monitor pollution, particularly in communities near polluting facilities.

  • Greenhouse Gas Corporate Reporting at EPA to enhance the standardization and transparency of corporate climate action commitments and plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

  • Lowering Embodied Carbon Labeling for Construction Materials, including developing a program for identifying and labeling construction materials with substantially lower levels of embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to industry averages. This initiative was designed to promote the use of low-carbon materials in construction projects, particularly in federal buildings and transportation infrastructure.

  • Renewable Fuel Program at EPA for grantmaking for advanced biofuels. 

  • State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training Grants at DOE that provides needed financing to states to train and procure a workforce that is able to install cost-saving home efficiency upgrades like heat pumps.  


Conclusion

Let’s be clear-eyed about what’s happening here: Congressional Republicans are attempting to take money out of everyday people’s pockets to give tax breaks to billionaires. 

In the process, they’re taking a wrecking ball to dozens of programs that make energy affordable for households, reduce toxic pollution, combat the climate crisis, provide life-changing healthcare, and nourish families with food assistance. 

Though this analysis has focused on Evergreen’s priority IRA climate programs found in the Energy and Commerce (“E&C”) draft bill, other life-changing federal climate programs are on the line, including those that may be slashed through the upcoming Ways and Means (“W&M”) Committee bill. Evergreen will be tracking the House Committee markup and passage process for both W&M and E&C in the coming days.

For more information or to speak with an Evergreen Action policy expert, please contact Deputy Communications Director Seth Nelson at seth@evergreenaction.com.

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