One of only two House Republicans to vote against last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is looking to restart the clean energy tax credit fight.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania is preparing to introduce legislation that would reinstate solar and wind incentives that Republicans last year eviscerated, an action he maintains was “nonsensical.”
“If you want to lower energy costs, you got to utilize every single source you have,” he said in an interview with POLITICO’s E&E News.
“Moreover, renewables are critical in energy independence, which is a national security issue. I don’t understand the perspective.”
The legislation comes as both Republicans and Democrats talk up affordability ahead of the midterm elections; electricity prices stand to be a key pillar.
Fitzpatrick said he is still fine-tuning the details of a bill that’s sure to give GOP leadership a headache — essentially “undoing the bad provisions from the renewable energy perspective.”
“I am taking the lead because I did vote ‘no’ on the package,” Fitzpatrick said, adding he is in the process of seeking input from building and other labor groups about their priorities.
Fitzpatrick said many of his Republican colleagues “really struggled” with their OBBBA vote because of the clean energy provisions, even if they ultimately supported the legislation for its other pieces like immigration.
“Given a standalone choice on this issue, I think they would support it,” he said of legislation to extend renewable energy credits.
Indeed, last year, dozens of House Republicans signaled their support for maintaining some of the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits, which passed in 2022 without a single GOP vote.
But when the legislation hit the floor, nearly every Republican — excluding Fitzpatrick — supported the vehicle for much of the GOP’s domestic agenda.
Also sacrificed were billions of dollars in investment and production credits from Democrats’ climate law at a time of notable increases in solar power installations and electric vehicle production.
GOP-friendly power sources like nuclear, geothermal and biofuels were spared. An advanced manufacturing credit was preserved but with new foreign entity restrictions.
Now, Fitzpatrick, a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, sees an opening to restart the debate, even in a political environment dominated by a president who has called the “green tax credits” a “SCAM” and renewable energy projects “JUNK.”
But Fitzpatrick says he’s not worried about President Donald Trump’s open hostility toward clean energy. “We need to change that position,” he said. “Because I think he’s getting bad advice on this.”
Fitzpatrick said the Trump administration’s interest in powering data centers could change the White House’s calculus.
The Pennsylvania moderate said he hadn’t spoken with some of the Republicans — like Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York — who were pushing GOP leaders to salvage some of the credits.
Fitzpatrick said he was confident the support for his bill is “broader than me.”
Garbarino said he’d have to see the details before he could weigh in on how the conversation might unfold. He recalled how many conservatives wanted to scrap the renewable energy credits faster.
“We ended up in a place better than they wanted us to but not as great as I wanted us to be,” he said. “So we’ll see.”
Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who was not familiar with Fitzpatrick’s plans, said it would be “awesome” if Congress brought back some of the credits, though he acknowledged the political difficulties.
Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), who fought to save some of the credits in the Senate version of the bill, was not exactly optimistic.
“I think we worked pretty hard to get where we are,” he said. “There wouldn’t be a lot of enthusiasm for it over here. … I think we landed the plane where everybody could land it.”
