WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt ceiling plan to cut $4.5 trillion in spending cuts will affect more than 100,000 green manufacturing jobs — many in Republican congressional districts — announced as a result of President Joe Biden’s landmark climate stimulus bill, the White House said Thursday.
The Republican bill would repeal parts of the Inflation Relief Act, which Democrats in Congress passed last year. This includes eliminating pending green tax credits for companies that build electric vehicles, charging stations, solar and wind facilities, EV batteries and other infrastructure for renewable energy.
McCarthy said his proposal would end Biden’s “green payments” as he unveiled the cuts that Republicans want as part of raising the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion on Wednesday.
In a memo shared exclusively with USA TODAY, the White House zeroed in on eight Republican congressional districts — including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green’s polarizing rural Georgia district — where companies have announced manufacturing plans with the help of green subsidies.
“”I will kill more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs — mostly in red states — or force America to let us cheat and trigger a recession,” Andrew Bates, White House deputy press secretary, said in a statement.
He said McCarthy’s bill would “take two to four steps to America’s manufacturing renaissance — on China’s behalf.”
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Clean energy companies have reported 142,016 new jobs in 31 states since Biden signed the inflation-reduction law into law in August. According to an updated analysis of climate forcingIt advocates clean energy.
This includes 191 clean energy projects totaling $242.81 billion in new investments. The companies announced 65 new battery manufacturing sites, 40 new or expanded electric vehicle production facilities and 34 wind and solar energy projects.
Most programs are Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas – a mix of purple, red and blue states. Bloomberg reported most of the projects In traditionally conservative states.
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A. in Greene’s North Georgia District A $2.5 billion solar plant is planned by Qcells, was billed as the largest solar project in U.S. history when it was announced in February. It is expected to create 2,500 jobs.
The memo also singled out other members of Congress with green initiatives in their districts:
- Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., Qcels: $2.5 billion in solar production, Hyundai/SK: $4.5 billion in battery production
- Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-Ga.: Frayer/Koch: $2.6 billion in battery manufacturing
- Rep. Joe Wilson, RS.C.,: Scout Motors: $2 billion EV product
- Rep. Ralph Norman, RS.C.: Albemarle: $1.3 Billion Lithium Processing
- Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn.: LG: $3.2 billion in battery material processing
- Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio: Honda/LG: $3.5 billion in battery production
- Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.: LG: $5.5 billion in battery manufacturing
“Would Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green vote to eliminate investments that would help create 2,500 solar manufacturing jobs in her district?” Bates said. “Will Rep. Joe Wilson vote to strip tax credits from $2 billion EV manufacturing investment in his district?”
Biden has refused to negotiate spending cuts pushed by Republicans as the White House seeks to raise the debt ceiling without conditions. Failure to raise the debt ceiling could leave the US unable to meet its financial obligations, leading to possible default and economic collapse.
“These spending limits are not draconian. They are responsible,” McCarthy said in remarks to the House floor Wednesday as he released his plan. “It will end the green allowance for companies that distorts the market and wastes taxpayers’ money.”
McCarthy Goldman Sachs pointed to the analysis It estimates green subsidies will cost $1.2 trillion over the next decade, more than triple the $391 billion projected by the Congressional Budget Office.
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The White House is intensifying attacks on Republicans’ proposed cuts.
As he prepares to announce his expected 2024 re-election bid, Biden has made his push to expand domestic production of electric vehicles and microchips a centerpiece of his message to working-class Americans.
In a speech from Maryland Union Hall on Wednesday, Biden blasted McCarthy’s plan as part of the “MAGA economic agenda.”
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
