The Biden administration is seeking to rapidly disperse climate funds to cement the president’s green energy agenda before President-elect Donald Trump assumes the Oval Office in January.
In a memo released by the White House, Jeff Zients, White House Chief of Staff, said that the administration is going to “sprint to the finish line and get as much done as possible for the American people” in the remaining weeks of President Joe Biden’s term.
The top Biden official said that they plan to “obligate as much funding as possible before the end of the term,” including dishing out unspent funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to support climate-related projects.
The White House also said that Americans can “expect more action” on funding from the IRA – the Democrats’ climate legislation.
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Trump has suggested that he would “undo” the IRA when he becomes president, legislation he has described as the “greatest scam in history.”
Though some House Republicans, who secured a majority in the chamber in the next Congress, have also signaled support for reworking the climate bill, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told CNBC that “you’ve got to use a scalpel and not a sledgehammer” on the legislation.
It’s unlikely, however, that the IRA would be completely overturned, given that nearly all the funds have already been awarded.
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White House spokesperson Andrew Bates warned against Republicans and the incoming administration attempting to undo Biden’s agenda.
“Repealing President Biden’s signature laws would be an historic redistribution of wealth from working Americans to Big Pharma and China,” Bates said in a memo first obtained by NBC News, adding that despite potential pushback, projects under the IRA “have been locked-in.”
Bates also suggested that Republican districts are benefiting from the IRA.
“That includes the creation of over 330,000 clean energy jobs — disproportionately in House districts represented by Republicans,” Bates wrote. “Because of the Inflation Reduction Act, we’ve already saved more than 3.4 million Americans $8.4 million on clean energy upgrades to their homes, and more than 300,000 Americans have saved over $2 billion upfront on [electric vehicle] purchases.”
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