As the Republican-controlled Congress prepares to take up President Trump’s budget proposal, hundreds of billions of dollars dedicated to lowering energy costs for working families and local businesses are on the line.
Trump is pushing for unprecedented tax breaks that will further enrich Elon Musk and the other billionaires who bankrolled his campaign.
Yet the size of his proposed tax giveaways are so enormous that Trump and his cronies in Congress want to pay for them by gutting programs that millions of working families rely on.
Medicaid, which provides healthcare for working families, children and seniors, is one of the highest-profile programs that is on the chopping block.
But Trump also wants to eliminate $370 billion in federal clean energy investments — at the same time as working families are struggling to handle skyrocketing energy costs.
These programs include tax cuts and rebates that enable working families and local businesses to reduce energy usage by switching to energy efficient appliances, pursuing weatherization projects, and purchasing heat pumps.
In 2023 alone, more than 158,000 Pennsylvania families benefited from these programs, saving more than $267 million on clean energy investments that provide long-term savings.
Trump is also targeting other clean energy programs that are designed to help make Pennsylvania businesses more competitive and create union jobs.
These federal investments are retooling old factories to lower their energy costs, saving thousands of union jobs in the process.
At the same time, other federal programs are designed to make the United States the world leader in 21st Century manufacturing. Here in Pennsylvania, companies pioneering the next generation of high-tech battery storage, wind turbines and steel production have been benefiting from federal investments.
Yet all of these programs are at risk in the coming months as Trump tries to ram his extreme agenda through Congress.
Already, a Mack truck plant in the Lehigh Valley that manufactures the next generation of electric trash trucks has been forced to lay off 10% of its workforce in the face of economic uncertainty created by the Trump agenda.
Trump’s goals are two-fold.
He wants to pay for his proposed tax cuts to billionaires by cutting programs that help working families get ahead.
He also wants to pay back the oil and gas CEOs who contributed to his campaign. While renewable energy choices like solar power are cheaper, Trump wants to do everything he can to keep our nation addicted to dirty oil and gas — even if it locks working families into higher energy costs for years to come.
READ: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick Votes With MAGA Majority to Help Big Oil Get Richer
Yet many of these clean energy investments draw bipartisan support in Congress – and among everyday Americans.
People all across the country and our commonwealth, in red communities and blue communities alike, are benefiting from lower energy bills. And tens of thousands of union workers are already at work building new factories, installing heat pumps and helping to manufacture solar panels, wind turbines and batteries that will finally deliver American energy independence.
With Congress narrowly divided, Trump can only afford to lose a small handful of votes.
Republicans from Pennsylvania can play a decisive role in continuing to lower costs for working families while protecting programs that boost the commonwealth’s economy and create jobs.
Will they stand with their constituents, who deserve to be paying less on their energy bills and who need the jobs these federal investments are creating?
Or will they stand with billionaires and oil and gas CEOs who are trying to further enrich themselves by squeezing the middle class?
Pennsylvanians will be watching them closely.
