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Congressional Clarity Surfaces as Green New Deal Giveaways Cut from COVID-19 Stimulus Deal

March 25, 2020 by Leave a Comment

House and Senate Democrats cave, acknowledging unrelated renewable energy tax credits won’t stimulate the economy

WASHINGTON DC (March 25, 2020) – The American Energy Alliance (AEA) released the following statement after an announced deal between House and Senate leaders on a $2 trillion legislative package meant to protect our health and the economy as the nation navigates the COVID-19 pandemic. President Trump is expected to sign the soon-to-be-passed legislation.

Previous negotiations fell apart when Democratic leaders Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, green advocacy groups, and renewable energy industry lobbyists attempted to insert unrelated and unnecessary tax extensions for electric vehicles, tax credits for wind, investment tax credits for solar and other clean technologies, and emission restrictions for distressed airlines.

Thomas Pyle, President of AEA, issued this statement:

“Three full days of dithering for a Green New Deal unnecessarily delayed the financial relief that American families and businesses so desperately need as we fight the coronavirus.”

“It is downright shameful that the Democratic Leadership put the priorities of the greens and the renewable lobby in front of health care providers, small business owners, and American families by holding up the relief bill in a failed effort to advance their unpopular progressive agenda.”

“The irony of holding up the economic relief package to push for a Green New Deal is not lost on American families. By design, the Green New Deal would eliminate or make prohibitively expensive the fuels vital to our economy and the products that we rely on for everyday living.”

“We commend Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Trump for standing up for American families and businesses by refusing to let Speaker Pelosi hold the economic relief package hostage in exchange for an outrageous and harmful progressive wishlist.”

Additional Resources:

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Nancy Pelosi Holds Pandemic Relief Hostage for the Green New Deal

March 25, 2020 by 75 Comments

All last weekend, Democratic and Republican Senators huddled hour after hour hammering out a bipartisan deal to get financial relief to the individuals, companies and state and local governments affected by the widespread shutdowns in response to the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.  By Sunday evening, a deal had been reached to send checks directly to American citizens, provide billions in funding to hospitals, make billions in loans available to businesses small and large. While not perfect, the deal provided an immediate injection of help to cratering American household budgets and the wider economy.

But Sunday night, returning from a weeklong recess, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she was not satisfied with this bipartisan deal and would be introducing her own.  Suddenly, Democrats were demanding emissions limits for airlines, sweeping collective bargaining mandates, extensions of wind and solar tax credits, an extension of electric vehicle tax credits, federalizing state election rules, student loan cancellation, a bailout for the postal service, and on and on.  In fact, Pelosi’s demands looked a lot like the project of the left-wing of the Democratic Party known as the Green New Deal.

In 2009 the famous quote to accompany the bank bailouts and wasteful “stimulus” was “never let a crisis go to waste” from Barack Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel.  In 2020, we get “a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision” from Speaker Pelosi’s third in command, Rep. Jim Clyburn. The Democrats decided that an unprecedented global pandemic was the perfect opportunity to hold America hostage for their Green New Deal.

It is hard to understate the outrageousness and cynicism of Pelosi’s gambit.  Millions of Americans have already been laid off as businesses have been forced to close by state lockdowns.  Small businesses, like restaurants, face imminent bankruptcy as their revenues abruptly vanish. Hospitals, bracing for a flood of patients, are worried about making payroll.  The American people need immediate help, but at the last minute, Nancy Pelosi jeopardized everything for her Green New Deal.

Thankfully, such shamelessness was finally a bridge too far, even for a media that normally bends over backward to cover for the environmental left.  Under an avalanche of criticism, Pelosi backed down and finally today the Senate will pass the deal agreed to on Sunday with only a few minor tweaks (tweaks that Senate Republicans would have agreed to on Sunday).  

But we can’t forget this incident.  Nancy Pelosi has delayed this much-needed disaster relief by three days.  The end of the month is less than a week away when millions of individuals and businesses must pay rent and mortgages.  Even with the deal on Sunday, it was going to be hard for the government to get assistance out in time. With Pelosi’s cynical delay, it will take that much longer for relief to reach the American people.  

For three days, Nancy Pelosi held up pandemic relief for her own selfish political payoffs.  Even by the standards of Washington, DC, Pelosi’s gambling with the lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of Americans is shocking.  When Americans were desperate and hurting, Pelosi saw only a chance to jam the Green New Deal down the country’s throat. Never forget it.

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House Dems use Coronavirus to push Green Agenda

March 18, 2020 by 5 Comments

A coalition of House Democrats, environmental advocacy groups, and renewable energy trade associations are looking to take advantage of the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by sneaking several renewable energy tax credits into an economic stimulus bill.

Let’s set aside for a moment the question of whether or not such stimulus packages are actually effective. The idea that renewable energy tax credits have anything to do with responding to the COVID-19 situation is, on its face, ridiculous. The focus of public policy in the wake of an extreme economic shock should be on allowing price signals to properly convey information to energy producers and consumers and on eliminating regulatory barriers that might prevent economic actors from adjusting to the changing circumstances presented by COVID-19. 

But it appears that House Democrats will instead use this situation to once again hand out favors to the renewable energy industry. Unsurprisingly, House Democrats plan to provide this support by promoting several tax credit provisions that they, along with environmentalists and renewable energy industry groups, failed to codify during the 2019 end-of-year funding package. These tax credit provisions would likely:

  • Provide batteries and electricity storage systems the same investment tax credit currently offered to PV solar
  • Extend the investment tax credit for solar
  • Extend the current production tax credit for wind
  • Extend the investment tax credit for offshore wind
  • Increase the number of vehicles that are available the electric vehicle tax credit

Of course, the renewable energy industry has a long history of taking advantage of economic stimulus bills. In the wake of the financial crisis in 2009, the renewable energy industry lobbied hard for the introduction of new tax credits, most of which were eventually included in the 2009 stimulus bill.

It should be obvious to any outside observer what this pattern says about the nature of the renewable energy industry. Although people in the industry often claim that renewable energy does not need the support of the government, we continue to see the renewable energy industry take advantage of every opportunity to benefit from government handouts.

As IER has explained in the past, renewable energy tax credits distort energy markets in several ways that ultimately raise energy prices for consumers. Lawmakers should, therefore, reject the renewable energy industry’s attempt to take advantage of another economic downturn. 

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As Pandemic Spreads, Democrats Prioritize Green Giveaways for Special Interests Over Citizens

March 18, 2020 by Leave a Comment

House and Senate Democrats maneuver to slide unrelated renewable energy tax credits, green new deal policies into economic stimulus package meant to protect our health and the economy.

WASHINGTON DC (March 18, 2020) – Today, the American Energy Alliance (AEA) raised concerns about the ballooning $1.2 trillion stimulus package Congress is currently considering and what misguided proposals it may carry.

AEA pointed to reports that some House and Senate Democrats, environmental advocacy groups, and renewable energy industry lobbyists have revealed their intent to never let a serious crisis go to waste. Efforts are underway by members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition and Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Sheldon Whitehouse to slip extensions for expired tax giveaways and green new deal policies into the current funding package meant to stabilize the economy and aid Americans suffering from coronavirus. In addition to the extension of the consumer tax credit for electric vehicles, additional measures sought include the extension of tax credits for wind, investment tax credits for solar and other clean technologies, and tax incentives for energy storage. Additionally, Sens. Markey and Whitehouse want to tie aid for airlines to green new deal emissions policies.

Thomas Pyle, President of AEA, issued this statement:

“Some Democrats in Congress are showing their true colors today. Determined to never let a good crisis go to waste, they are seizing the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to slip failed green policies into legislation designed to protect the American economy and stop the spread of this deadly virus.”

“The proposed inclusion of seven expired renewable energy tax credits will do nothing to stimulate the economy or help anyone’s general health, and will only line the pockets of renewable energy companies, the wind and solar lobby, General Motors, and Tesla. For industries that claim they no longer need the support of the government, we continue to see them try and capitalize on the suffering of everyday Americans in their pursuit of a seemingly never ending stream of government handouts.”

From the presidential primary, to the response to this unprecedented global pandemic, it appears that the green lobby is a growing and disturbing force within the Democratic party, driving them to an extreme, radical, out-of-touch agenda that is now literally bargaining with people’s lives. The Democratic leadership should immediately admonish those in their party who are attempting to use this crisis to reward their green cronies. It is the height if irresponsibility and an insult to each and every American.”


The renewable energy industry has a long history of taking advantage of a crisis. In the wake of the financial crises in 2009, the renewable energy industry lobbied hard for the introduction of new tax credits, most of which were eventually included in the 2009 stimulus bill.

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AEA Launches Initiative to Stop Special Interest Tax Giveaways

March 5, 2020 by 2 Comments

GOP Senators Should Reject Effort to Give Tax Breaks to Big Companies and Wealthy Coastal Elites

WASHINGTON DC (March 5, 2020) – The American Energy Alliance (AEA) turned their attention to the United States Senate today via an online advocacy campaign. In a series of digital ads, AEA called on all senators to block proposed amendments to the American Energy Innovation Act that would expand the unnecessary, inefficient, costly and unfair electric vehicle (EV) tax credit.:

Thomas Pyle, AEA President issued the following statement

“Some Senate Democrats are once again focused on expanding the EV tax credit despite its gross inequities. They are using the American Energy Innovation Act as a tool to enrich two auto companies, GM and Tesla, along with wealthy coastal elites, mainly from California and New York. It’s now time for all Senators, especially Republicans, to stand up for their constituents and stop this obvious handout. No amendments, no deals, and no extensions of the tax credit.”


AEA has repeatedly reminded lawmakers that 78.7 percent of the EV tax credits went to households with an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or higher, and more than half went to households with an adjusted gross income of more than $200,000. AEA has also done extensive public polling on EV subsidies and identified a clear theme – a majority of Americans don’t believe taxpayers’ money should go towards paying for other peoples’ cars. Voters’ sentiments against paying for other’s electric vehicles especially sharpen when they learn nearly 50 percent of all subsidies are going to California.

AEA has promised to score any votes on amendments to the American Energy Innovation Act that would have detrimental impacts to consumers and taxpayers. AEA regularly scores Congressional votes concerning significant energy and environmental policy issues via its Energy Scorecard, designed to educate lawmakers about the most important energy votes of the year and empowers the American people to hold their elected officials accountable for the decisions they make in Washington.

Additional material:

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Key Vote: Energy Bill Amendments

March 4, 2020 by Leave a Comment

The American Energy Alliance urges all Senators to reject harmful amendments to the introduced American Energy Innovation Act. Numerous proposed and filed amendments have no place in this legislation. Legislative action in such areas as the Kigali Amendment limiting HFCs, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and electric vehicle and other tax credits, among others should be debated on their own merits, not attached to this larger bill in an attempt to sneak them to passage. An egregious example of this is Wyden amendment #1397, which seeks to revive or create every conceivable special interest tax credit.

The AEA will score any harmful amendments which are brought to a vote with additional vote alerts as amendment slates are agreed upon. Further, although AEA does not currently expect to score the final vote on this legislation, should any harmful amendments be successfully attached to the current legislative language, AEA reserves the right to score the final legislative vote.

The AEA urges all Senators to oppose extraneous amendments to the energy bill. Any amendments which are voted on will be included in the American Energy Scorecard.

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The American Energy Bureaucracy Act

March 2, 2020 by 5 Comments

This week the Senate will hastily begin consideration of a broad energy package compiled by Senators Murkowski and Manchin, with language included in the bill compiled from around 50 existing pieces of legislation, according to the sponsors.  While claiming to be about promoting “innovation” the bill is more accurately seen as promoting bureaucracy. The completed package weighs in at more than 550 pages and mostly consists of shuffling bureaucrats and paper within already bloated federal agencies, with over $20 billion in spending authorizations sprinkled in for good measure (based on our count, since there is no actual score for the bill).  The measure confuses bureaucratic activity for innovation and ignores one of the most basic lessons of history: people innovate, government regulates. Innovation springs from reduced government interference and micromanaging, not from sprinkling billions of dollars at new research offices within various cabinet departments.

In Murkowski and Manchin’s world, bureaucracy apparently can cure everything

As far as content, the draft bill is not particularly exciting.  The bill tosses billions of dollars in new money towards the creation of new offices for wind research, solar research, battery research, carbon capture research, nuclear research, vehicle research, and energy efficiency.  While research funding generally is not necessarily harmful, the federal government already spends billions of dollars a year on these exact fields. It is not clear why even more is needed.

The larger problem, though, is that this bill seeks to expand the government’s purview from basic research to promoting the deployment of various technologies.  One section of the bill seeks to reduce our “reliance on petroleum-based fuels.” It is these types of provisions where the bill bends into harmful. When the government gets into the business of choosing candidates for development and deployment of specific projects, it usually ends up supporting outdated technologies long after the market has moved on.  Worse, the taxpayer foots the bill for companies and projects that fail in the marketplace. This is already a problem at the Department of Energy, yet at its heart, this bill would amount to a massive expansion of that same department.

Additionally, a pernicious trend is growing where the billions in research money being shoveled to the Department of Energy has become a vehicle for a hidden revival of earmarks.  Year over year, despite President Trump’s budget requests to shrink numerous bloated agencies at the Energy Department, Senate and House appropriators have increased funding at the department.  The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy alone has enjoyed a 25% increase in its budget since President Trump took office. Flush with new cash, Members of Congress then pressure the Department of Energy to fund specific projects for their state or district.  This has all the corruption aspects that let to a ban on explicit earmarks in legislation, but just with less transparency as the decisions are obscured by a screen of bureaucracy.

The bill isn’t entirely negative. There are a few worthwhile provisions seeking to address our overwhelming reliance on foreign sources (especially China) for certain minerals that are important inputs to modern manufacturing.  It also includes needed permit streamlining for small volumes of LNG exports (though it does not address the problems of the permitting process itself). But why stop there? Why not include all LNG exports? The sections addressing cybersecurity and grid security are fine as well, but these few reasonable provisions hardly justify the massive and unnecessary bureaucratic expansion baked into this bill.

There they go again!

The real problem with this bureaucracy building bill, though, is tactical.  The sponsors went to great effort to exclude controversial provisions, and hence nothing truly impactful is included in the bill.  And yet, as reports about potential amendments trickles out, numerous senators are already lining up to inject various energy hobbyhorse provisions in the legislation.  This means we will likely be revisiting the fight on the expansion of tax giveaways for wind (PTC), solar (ITC), and electric vehicles. Look also for amendments to enact federal building codes and provide permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), among other Green New Deal type policies. 

Even worse, this bill provides a vehicle for the House, in thrall to radical environmental activists, to saddle the bill with even more goodies when it heads over to that chamber.  You can be sure the House Democrats won’t be able to resist passing their own expensive, command and control, anti-growth energy bill. The two bills will then have to be sent to a conference committee, where the potential for mischief is practically unlimited.  Whatever comes out of that process will bear no resemblance to the generally benign bill offered by Senators Murkowski and Manchin.

There is nothing urgent in this legislation.  Indeed, it is not clear why energy legislation is needed at all given low energy prices, booming energy exports, and accelerating private sector innovation everywhere from natural gas to renewables. Many of the parts of this bill that are truly noncontroversial and consensus policy could and should be passed individually.  The Senate would be better off simply pulling the plug on this “low-energy” energy bill. The United States has enough bureaucracy in our energy sector as it is.

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AEA Cautions Against Republican-led Green New Deal Lite

February 12, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Costly proposal spearheaded by Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) fails free-market litmus test

WASHINGTON DC (February 12, 2020) – Thomas Pyle, President of the American Energy Alliance (AEA), issued the following statement in response to the unveiling of a Republican-led “climate messaging exercise” providing tax credits for carbon capture and other conservation proposals:

“Individuals, small businesses, and corporations should always be looking for innovative ways to offer more and better services or products to consumers while lessening their negative impact on the environment. It is both common sense and makes good business sense. When it comes to government policy, our focus remains steadfast. We reject proposals that restrict access to affordable, reliable energy and attempt to pick winners and losers in the marketplace.”

“Americans intuitively understand that people — not governments — solve problems. We place our trust in the collective wisdom of free markets and free minds to solve any challenge that comes before us.”

“Early in the year, I cautioned lawmakers that the only thing the Green New Deal could possibly hope to achieve is to lull policymakers into accepting less draconian ‘reasonable alternatives’ to it. Unfortunately, Republican Leader McCarthy did not heed that warning and has made the same mistake that many of his predecessors have made — you can never out-Democrat a Democrat. His costly proposal is a slippery slope to a slightly less intrusive Green New Deal.”

AEA regularly scores Congressional votes concerning significant energy and environmental policy issues via its Energy Scorecard, designed to educate lawmakers about the most important energy votes of the year and empowers the American people to hold their elected officials accountable for the decisions they make in Washington.

See Pyle’s testimony before the House Western Caucus: Green New Deal: Unnecessary, Illogical, and Immoral

For media inquiries please contact:
[email protected]

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Trump’s 2021 Budget Prioritizes America’s Energy & Environmental Needs

February 10, 2020 by Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON DC (February 10, 2020) – Thomas Pyle, President of the American Energy Alliance, issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s 2021 proposed budget:

“President Trump continues to make good on his promises to the American people with his latest budget proposal.”

“The president recognizes that the key to a vibrant economy is affordable and reliable American made energy. He also understands that the government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers in the economy. His proposed 2021 budget reflects those key principles, which is why the American Energy Alliance is happy to support it.”

“There’s a difference between need and want. We need clean air and water and thanks to the technology-driven American energy revolution, we are enjoying it. While some want to point to subsidies or mandates as the catalyst to innovation, it is people, not government, that has led to our energy transformation and the environmental success we see before us.”

“Unfortunately, the fate of the President’s proposed changes rest in the hands of Congress which historically has bowed to environmental interests and pet projects resulting in expanding an already bloated budget that quite frankly needs a little air taken out of it.”

Noteworthy Changes in the 2021 Proposed Budget:

  • Reiterates support for leasing in the Congressionally designated drilling area within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
  • Increases funding for the federal offshore and onshore oil and gas leasing program at the Department of Interior.
  • Proposes to reduce programs outside the core mission of the Environmental Protection Agency
  • Reduces the excessive renewables subsidies from the Department of Energy through Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
  • Elimination of the federal $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit

For media inquiries please contact:
[email protected]

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AEA Praises Trump’s SOTU Speech and America’s Energy Comeback

February 4, 2020 by Leave a Comment

White House must urge Congress to fix our broken, abused, misused and outdated environmental laws.


WASHINGTON DC (February 4, 2020) – Thomas Pyle, President of the American Energy Alliance, issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s third State of the Union address:

“In terms of great comebacks, it’s impossible to overlook the American energy story. From reliance on unstable foreign regimes, and a President who said ‘we can’t just drill our way to lower gas prices,’ to becoming the number one producer of natural gas and oil in the world, we now have a President who has kept his promise to end the war on affordable and reliable energy.”

“Even coal exports are on the rise, which means America is in the driver’s seat in terms of the global political landscape. By reducing unnecessary red tape and embracing our homegrown energy production, President Trump deserves recognition for this success. The American energy renaissance is truly a comeback story and one that carries huge benefits for working class Americans.”

“But this comeback story is far from over. In order to achieve true energy dominance and unlock our nation’s full potential, President Trump must have the courage to do what Congress has failed to do for decades. In the next year and beyond, President Trump must provide Congress with a blueprint to fix our broken, abused, misused and outdated environmental laws. Whether it’s prioritizing efficiencies at EPA, improving the leasing process on federal lands, or modernizing bedrock laws like the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act, we know that President Trump is bold enough to stand up to the Green New Deal Democrats and the perennial prophets of doom on the left.”

Additional Resources:

For media inquiries please contact:
[email protected]

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