President Trump is parading the “Big Ugly Bill” around as the centerpiece of his domestic policy agenda, promising that it will unleash an unprecedented wave of economic growth.
But instead, it succeeds only in perpetuating an environmental catastrophe: a full-scale assault on our environment, public health, and economic future.
The bill, which Trump had the audacity to sign on Independence Day, raises energy costs, raises health care costs, and kills hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs. And beyond the environmental impacts, it puts human health at risk by increasing pollution while at the same time eliminating food assistance and health care for millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of our fellow Pennsylvanians.
Republicans in Congress who fell in line with Trump’s radical agenda will be directly responsible for expected utility bill increases of $400 per year — hardly something that helps working families at a time when inflation is again on the rise.
It’s no exaggeration to say that this legislation does more to endanger public health and encourage pollution than any other bill that has passed Congress in our nation’s history.
The bill drives up energy costs for Pennsylvania families by cutting clean energy tax credits that thousands of families across the state are using to purchase more efficient appliances, switch to electric vehicles, and invest in heat pumps that lower energy bills.
At the same time, it eliminates tax credits that were prompting a national clean energy revolution. And because renewable energy is cheaper than dirty fossil fuels and can be brought online faster, this will further raise electricity rates and could prompt blackouts at a time when our region’s energy needs are skyrocketing.
And the giveaways to the billionaire oil and gas CEOs who bankrolled Trump’s campaign are astounding.
Not content with hamstringing programs designed to lower costs and clean our air, the GOP’s budget bill even eliminates funding that school districts across Pennsylvania have been using to make the switch to electric school buses to improve the health of our children.
That approach is emblematic of a president who puts record oil and gas company profits ahead of the well-being of Pennsylvania’s children and families.
Finally, this bill is a job-killer.
At a time when Pennsylvania should be leveraging its infrastructure and its highly trained union workforce to double down on the industries of the future, Trump and his cronies in Congress have cut programs designed to boost clean energy manufacturing.
READ: 10 Ways the GOP Budget Will Make Life Worse for Americans
This bill cedes our competitive advantage in clean and renewable energy sectors and gives other countries a leg up.
Yet despite the challenges represented by this legislation, there’s still hope. People from all across our commonwealth and nation powered the movement that passed landmark federal climate legislation during the last administration. And that same people-power can fight back against Trump and his billionaire cronies and lay the groundwork for real environmental leadership right here in Pennsylvania.
Most immediately, as Washington takes a massive step back, Harrisburg must seize the mantle of leadership.
As Governor Shapiro and the state legislature negotiate a budget, it’s critical that they take steps that will lower energy costs and create union jobs by boosting access to clean energy. That means investing in existing bipartisan programs, like Solar for Schools, while also advancing the governor’s Lightning Plan and the legislative package recently rolled out by the Blue-Green Caucus of legislators seeking to build bridges between the environment and labor movements.
Working together, we can blunt the impact of Trump’s environmental attacks by investing in clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency right here in our commonwealth.
Now more than ever, the future of our state and of our country will be determined by the people who get involved. We need your help. Working together, we can turn past this difficult page in our history and build a brighter future for our environment, for our workers and for our children.
