The budget reconciliation bill that passed the House Thursday morning eliminated the majority of “clean energy” tax credits and rolled back many of the Biden-era climate and energy mandates in the Inflation Reduction Act
The Senate voted Wednesday to roll back vehicle emission standards in California, which would have phased out gasoline-powered vehicles
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL (May 22, 2024) — The U.S. House of Representatives passed what President Trump calls the “big, beautiful bill,” a budget reconciliation bill that contains much of his early second-term agenda. In addition to tax cuts and other provisions, the bill rolls back many of the Biden-era climate and energy policies.
Also, this week, the U.S. Senate voted to roll back California’s stringent “clean air” rules, which would have eliminated gasoline-powered cars and trucks by the middle of the next decade. Only electric vehicles would meet the state’s emission standards.
The following statements by climate and energy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/377-4000 or (cell) 312/731-9364.
“I applaud the passage by the Republicans in the U.S. House of Trump’s big, beautiful, tax, energy, and security bill and the Senate’s action to withdraw California’s waiver restricting and trucks. These are perhaps the two most consequential actions on behalf of consumer freedom, individual liberty – as well as economic, energy, and environmental progress – that Congress has undertaken thus far in 2025. This may, in fact, prove to be the highlight of this Congress.
“The ending of many Inflation Reduction Act green energy boondoggles early, the ending of tax credits, and the promotion of nuclear power should help shore up the nation’s rapidly declining electric power system, while taking a load off of taxpayers. And the Senate’s action to prevent California and allied progressive states from forcing drivers into electric vehicles – despite the sales data indicating the vast majority of people still prefer vehicles powered by the internal combustion engine – ensures drivers a relatively affordable and reliable level of mobility.
“These actions show that this Congress is aware of its responsibility as the sole branch of government delegated the authority to regulate interstate commerce, and it embraces that role to the benefit of the general public. Good for them.”
H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D.
Director, Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
“What started as a waiver meant to address California’s unique smog issues mutated into a monster that gave California control over the automobile industry, especially as other states followed their lead with emissions regulations. Manufacturers had no real choice but to comply, increasing the cost of a new car for everyone. Worse, the more recent iterations of the waiver were to permit California to ban the sale of gasoline cars entirely by 2035. Last time Trump was president, he removed the California waiver, and it was slapped right back into place by Biden. This time, Congress passed the resolution, so here’s hoping it sticks.”
Linnea Lueken
Research Fellow
Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
“Repealing California’s waiver exemption was important because it prevents the unelected partisan maniacs at the California Air Resources Board from creating a de facto ban on the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles for the entire country by 2035. How so? Because car makers were not going to manufacture two sets of automobiles, one with California’s standards that could be sold everywhere, and one with Washington’s that could be sold everywhere except the nation’s most populous state and largest automobile market.
“They would have simply manufactured one set of automobiles, and all those vehicles would have met the California standard, and everyone else in America would have been forced into purchasing a multi-ton, gussified golf cart whether they wanted one or not. California’s mandate was an abuse of federalism, and its waiver deserved to die a long time ago. This was a big win for consumer freedom.”
Tim Benson
Senior Policy Analyst
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
The Heartland Institute is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1984 and headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our website or call 312/377-4000.
