Posted on 07/29/2022 6:41:10 AM PDT by dennisw
The $369 billion climate and tax bill would affect every aspect of U.S. energy production, with incentives for producers and consumers to move away from fossil fuels.
The climate and tax deal announced by Senate Democrats on Wednesday would pump hundreds of billions of dollars into programs designed to speed the country’s transition away from an economy based largely on fossil fuels and toward cleaner energy sources.
The legislation, called the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, is a far cry from the ambitious multi-trillion-dollar domestic policy and tax proposal that President Biden sought and that Democrats in Congress spent more than a year laboring to pass.
What remains is a downsized but still significant package, born of compromise between Democratic Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York.
Here’s a quick look at what’s in the bill, which Democrats hope to muscle past Republican opposition in the Senate as early as next week.
Tax credits for zero-carbon power plants The deal would provide billions of dollars in tax credits over 10 years for companies that build new sources of emissions-free electricity, such as wind turbines, solar panels, battery storage, geothermal plants or advanced nuclear reactors. Previously, Congress had offered short-term credits for wind and solar that often expired after a year or two. The credits in the new bill cover any zero-carbon technology and would last for at least a decade, giving companies more certainty.
Understand What Happened to Biden’s Domestic Agenda Card 1 of 7 ‘Build Back Better.’ Before being elected president in 2020, Joseph R. Biden Jr. articulated his ambitious vision for his administration under the slogan “Build Back Better,” promising to invest in clean energy and to ensure that procurement spending went toward American-made products.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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A two-part agenda. March and April 2021: President Biden unveiled two plans that together formed the core of his domestic agenda: the American Jobs Plan, focused on infrastructure, and the American Families Plan, which included a variety of social policy initiatives.
A $6 trillion budget. June 2021: President Biden proposed a $6 trillion budget for 2022. The proposal detailed the highest sustained levels of federal spending since World War II, with the goal of funding the investments in education, transportation and climate initiatives articulated in the two plans.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Nov. 15, 2021: President Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law, the result of months of negotiations. The president hailed the package, a pared-back version of what had been outlined in the American Jobs Plan, as evidence that U.S. lawmakers could still work across party lines.
The Build Back Better Act. Nov. 19, 2021: The House narrowly passed a $2.2 trillion social spending bill intended to fund a package of initiatives from the American Families Plan and the American Jobs Plan. But on Dec. 19, 2021, Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, said he would not support the bill as written, dooming his party’s drive to pass it.
A new attempt. July 15, 2022: Efforts to revive the bill, in a much smaller form, ahead of the midterm elections were dealt a severe blow when Mr. Manchin told Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, that he was unwilling to support funding for climate or energy programs or raising taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations.
A surprise deal. July 28, 2022: In a reversal, Mr. Manchin said that he had agreed to a deal to include hundreds of billions of dollars for climate and energy programs and tax increases in a package to subsidize health care and lower the cost of prescription drugs. The package’s climate proposals would be the most ambitious climate action ever taken by Congress.
The bill also expands a tax credit for companies that capture and bury carbon dioxide from natural gas power plants or other industrial facilities before the gas escapes into the atmosphere and heats the planet — a technology rarely used today because of high costs. It would also provide tax breaks to keep existing nuclear plants running. More than 13 reactors have closed nationwide since 2013, and emissions often rise when they do because they tend to be replaced by fossil fuels. It would also provide grants and tax credits for states and electric utilities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Incentives for electric vehicles
7 KEY POINTS>>>>
Tax credits for zero-carbon power plants
Incentives for electric vehicles
Help for people to lower energy costs
The bill aims to lower energy costs by investing $9 billion in rebates for Americans buying and retrofitting their homes with energy efficient and electric appliances.
Investments in domestic manufacturing
The package sets aside $60 billion for clean energy manufacturing in the U.S., including $30 billion in production tax credits for solar panels, wind turbines, batteries
Cracking down on methane
The bill would also impose a fee on excess methane leaking from oil and gas wells, pipelines and other infrastructure. Methane is a particularly powerful greenhouse gas:
Investments in low-income communities
The bill would invest over $60 billion to support low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately burdened by the environmental and public health effects of climate change.
Agriculture and forests
An additional $20 billion would be set aside for programs to cut emissions that come from cows and other livestock, as well as from agricultural soil and rice production. Agriculture generates about 11 percent of the greenhouse gases emitted by the United States, according to the government.
It's time we demand them to put or shut up.
it all sounds so wonderful
they are promising the jetsons
but will deliver the flintstones
That’s a good one.
Just more Global Warming Gibberish
Give me a break. Government spending and the associated money printing out of thin air is the root cause of inflation. Are the Dems too dumb to understand this or is their desire to buy votes so strong they don’t give a crap.?
Just more screwing with stuff that works. It’s economic witchcraft that will have people freezing to death in the dark of winter. The solution is to go really old school. Burn the witches to keep warm.
They are innumerate and don't give a crap.
No Diesel = No Gas = No Food
Soon neighbor is killing neighbor in search of food.
The gov't would have no need to come to disarm you.
In 6 months 90% of Americans would be dead.
Pray that America returns to God and repents.
How many trillions have we already poured into these bottomless toilets?
How do you cut those emissions without reducing the number of cows and crops?
Have to give democrats credit. With very narrow majorities they have used reconciliation twice, if this passes, for 2.6 Trillion dollars that not only pays off supporters, but fundamentally transforms energy production.
Also the RINO cash in on the 1 Trillion Infrastructure and then add on the 280 billion CHIPS boondoggle ( just passed) that only budgets 50 billion for Chips, is breathtaking pork
Outside of ObamaCare i haven’t seen one political party get utterly rolled like this in my lifetime and lets not forget 60 billion for Ukraine….
Wonder what saturation percentage ‘of color’ and what actual color has to be reached to be considered as a ‘community of color’ for this new cash? I will consider using a tanning salon to get in on some of this new additional colored only freebie money handout to get in on the action, just need guidance of what color I need to be shooting for.
Inflation reduction act my ass.
It would be a lot cheaper if we simply paid each of these bastards 10 million dollars, supplied them 20 whores, and flew them to the Islands to vacation the rest of the year.
“The bill would invest over $60 billion to support low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately burdened by the environmental and public health effects of climate change.”
In other words, bribes.
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