Inflation Reduction Act Archives - The Florida Capital Star

Biden-Harris Admin Routed ‘Environmental Justice’ Cash to Left-Wing Activists, House Report Details

November 4, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

The House Energy and Commerce Committee released a new report Monday detailing how the Biden-Harris administration has given huge amounts of taxpayer cash to left-wing activist groups under the guise of “environmental justice.”

The report highlights how the Biden-Harris Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) used hundreds of millions of dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — President Joe Biden’s signature climate bill — to line the pockets of left-wing activist groups aligned with the administration’s sprawling climate and green energy agendas. The use of taxpayer funds to support these activist groups, some of which already receive considerable financial support from large environmentalist outfits like the Environmental Defense Fund and the Energy Foundation, is arguably “akin to a taxpayer-funded lobbying operation,” the lawmakers argue in the report.

Commentary: The Role of Federalism in Trump’s Second Term

October 19, 2024 RealClearWire

The presidential election is in its final stretch and the race is neck-and-neck, according to the polls. The outcome will have a profound impact at all levels of government and business, so preparing for a second Trump term would be prudent.

In office and on the campaign trail, former President Trump has championed federalism and granting the states greater latitude to implement policies and programs. He has voiced a commitment to reducing the footprint of federal regulations. As president, he implemented executive orders and other actions that sought to ease regulatory costs and effects. The Trump Administration also galvanized deregulatory efforts at the state and local level through the Governors’ Initiative on Regulatory Innovation. A similar effort can be expected in a second term.

Former Biden EPA Head and Climate Adviser Admits Green Energy Challenges Underestimated

October 7, 2024 Just the News

Former EPA administrator and climate advisor Gina McCarthy was a key backer of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The law set the country on an aggressive march toward greenhouse gas emission reductions, including advancing wind and solar. By some estimates, the green energy credits in the law alone will cost $3 trillion over their lifetimes.

New Biden-Harris Medicare Pan Could Cost Taxpayers $20 Billion in Election-Year Giveaway, CBO Warns

October 7, 2024 Just the News

In an election-year stunner, the Congressional Budget Office is warning the Biden-Harris administration’s new Medicare prescription drug plan could cost taxpayers more than $20 billion over three years.

The budget analysis arm of Congress said the increased costs are due to the government subsidizing many seniors’ premiums by sending money to insurance firms, and it would cost at least $5 billion extra in 2025 alone and add to the deficit.

Solar Developments Are Spreading Across America, Threatening Farmers and Local Communities

September 26, 2024 Just the News

Fueled by massive federal subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), solar developers are looking to the wide open spaces of rural lands as the best places to site their projects. This is also where much of America’s farm and range land is located, as well as communities that like the existing look and character of their neighborhoods.

Last week, President Biden said of the IRA, “I’m proud to announce that my, uh, my investments, that through my investments, the most significant climate change law ever. And by the way, it is a $369 billion bill. It’s called the — uh, we, we should have named it what it was.”

Commentary: Two Years On, the IRA Is Exactly What Its Critics Said It Would Become

August 20, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

In a recent interview, World Energy Council Secretary General Angela Wilkinson told me that one of the main impediments to the energy transition today is a lack of what she calls “systems thinking.”

“Energy transitions are a change in the organization of society,” she pointed out. “They’re not a simple case of swapping out one technology for another and everything else stays the same. Yet, we have this very simplistic narrative that we can take the oil system, we can put renewables in, it’s going to happen immediately, and nothing else will change. It’s like saying we’re going to take your thighbone out, but we’d like you to run a marathon.”

National Debt Reaches $35 Trillion for First Time in U.S. History

August 4, 2024 Florida Capital Star Staff

The national debt surpassed $35 trillion on Monday for the first time in U.S. history as exorbitant federal spending continues under President Joe Biden.

Since Biden was inaugurated, the national debt has increased by over $7 trillion, from $27.7 trillion on January 20, 2021 to now over $35 trillion as of July 29, 2024. If the debt were to be divided among the roughly 258.3 million adults in the U.S., each adult would have roughly $135,500.

Janet Yellen Calls for $78 Trillion to Tackle Climate Change

July 29, 2024 Florida Capital Star Staff

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a speech in Belem, Brazil, on Saturday that the price tag for a global transition to a low-carbon economy amounts to $78 trillion in financing through 2050.

Report Finds One Of Biden’s Favorite Green Industries to Miss 2030 Target by Years Despite Billions In Subsidies

July 16, 2024 Florida Capital Star Staff

Offshore wind is likely to miss the Biden administration’s 2030 target for the industry despite receiving billions of dollars of subsidies, according to a Tuesday American Clean Power Association (ACP) report.

The administration has a stated goal of having the offshore wind industry provide 30 gigawatts (GW) of power by 2030, but the ACP report projects that capacity will only reach about 14 GW by then. The Biden administration has subsidized the industry to the tune of billions of dollars since assuming office in 2021, but those efforts appear unlikely to put the 2030 target in reach until at least 2033, per ACP’s analysis.

Commentary: The Consequences of Delaying Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sales

June 4, 2024 RealClearWire

Offshore drilling has been a cornerstone of global energy production since the 1800s, fueling the American way of life and powering the global economy. From the early days of “on-water-drilling” to the advancement of the fixed platform units of today, offshore drilling has consistently contributed around 30 percent of global oil production. In the U.S., supply on federal offshore lands in the Gulf of Mexico alone accounts for approximately 15 percent of total crude oil production.

Biden’s Signature Bills are Pumping Billions into Swing States as 2024 Elections Draw Near

May 20, 2024 Florida Capital Star Staff

President Joe Biden’s signature pieces of legislation are routing billions of dollars into swing states, but pundits are not convinced that the money will make much difference in November’s elections.

The bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021, the CHIPS Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have cumulatively routed billions of dollars to battleground states over the course of Biden’s first term. The Biden campaign is running swing state ads to promote the funding and projects that Biden’s legislative agenda has created, but state and national pundits told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the benefits are unlikely to be a decisive factor in states like Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Commentary: If Republicans Want Better Legislative Outcomes, Trump Needs to Win Greater Majorities by Playing for the Popular Vote

May 9, 2024 Florida Capital Star Staff

Since 1960, Democrats have won the popular vote in 10 out of the last 16 presidential elections, and thanks to a combination of historical realignment (beginning during the 1930s), presidential coattails and the incumbency advantage, have also won U.S. House majorities in 11 out of those 16 contests, oftentimes with super majorities.

The modern story over U.S. House control, and therefore legislatively shaping the society of laws we live in presently, begins in 1932 when Franklin Roosevelt and Democrats utterly crushed Herbert Hoover’s reelection bid, winning 57.4 percent of the popular vote and 42 states to Hoover’s meager 39.6 percent and 6 states.

‘The Swamp is Getting Deeper’: EPA Awards Billions from Biden’s Landmark Climate Bill to Organizations Loaded with Democrat Insiders

April 5, 2024 Florida Capital Star Staff

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded nearly $14 billion Thursday to three organizations with deep ties to the Biden administration and the Democratic Party.

The EPA announced the winners of $20 billion of funding from the massive Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a program created by President Joe Biden’s signature climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act. Among the selected awardees are Climate United, the Coalition for Green Capital and Power Forward Communities, three groups that are taking home almost $14 billion combined to establish financing operations for a wide variety of green technology and energy projects under the GGRF’s National Clean Investment Fund.

Green: Taxpayers’ $3 Billion Supplying Clean Ports Program

March 3, 2024 The Center Square

The Biden administration’s choice for zero-emissions operations in America’s ports was boosted Wednesday with the opening of applications for $3 billion from taxpayers in the Clean Ports Program.

Equipment and infrastructure needs can be met that “reduce mobile source emissions at U.S. ports,” a release from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. EPA Administrator Michael Regan was in Wilmington, N.C., alongside Gov. Roy Cooper, whose administration he previously worked in, to make the announcement.

Chinese Solar Companies are Gearing Up to Cash in on Biden’s Signature Climate Bill

February 7, 2024February 6, 2024 Florida Capital Star Staff

Chinese solar manufacturers are building factories in the U.S. to reap American subsidies created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), President Joe Biden’s signature climate bill, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Companies based in China are responsible for about 25% of the 80 gigawatts in new solar manufacturing capacity announced in the U.S. since the IRA became law in August 2022 and established robust tax credit programs to incentivize domestic green energy production, according to the WSJ. Assuming that the factory construction and expected outputs announced by these China-based solar companies stay on schedule, they could reap a combined $1.4 billion worth of value from IRA subsidies each year.

AARP Spent Millions Advocating for New Laws That Likely Benefit a Major Corporate Backer

December 26, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

AARP, an organization that represents the interests of retired Americans, spent tens of millions of dollars promoting provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that likely benefit the bottom line of one of the group’s major corporate backers.

AARP spent more than $60 million between 2019 and summer 2022 advocating for a provision that eventually made it into the IRA allowing Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies over the prices of certain drugs, according to an article posted on the group’s website. The provisions would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate the prices of certain drugs with drug manufacturers starting in 2026.

Biden Admin Doles Out $600 Million to Activist Groups, Universities for ‘Environmental Justice’

December 25, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

The Biden administration is shelling out $600 million in taxpayer funds to grantmaking organizations to distribute for “environmental justice” projects all across the country, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Wednesday.

The funds will go to 11 different organizations, which include universities and left-wing groups that focus on advancing social justice causes in addition to their environmental advocacy, according to the EPA’s announcement. Each of the recipients will in turn use the money to provide sub-grants to local organizations to pursue thousands of “environmental justice” projects like environmental jobs training programs and “healthy homes” initiatives.

Biden Admin Unveils New Green Subsidy Guidelines That Could Allow China to Cash In

December 17, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

The Biden administration released proposed rules for green manufacturing tax credits on Thursday, leaving the door open for Chinese firms to capture their value.

The proposed guidance, released by the Treasury Department, clarifies the eligibility requirements for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) subsidies meant to incentivize domestic manufacturing of products like solar panels and electric vehicle (EV) parts, according to its text. The guidelines do not include restrictions on entities linked to adversarial foreign countries, and they would allow for China-tied companies to capture the value of tax credits if they establish operations in the U.S. that meet all other eligibility requirements.

Biden-Favored EV Bus Maker Proterra Goes Bust and Leaves a Trail of Broken and Irreparable Buses

December 9, 2023 Just the News

Across the country, towns and cities of various sizes envisioned an electrified public transit system that could shuttle residents with vehicles that produced no carbon-filled exhaust.

Many of those communities purchased buses from Silicon Valley-based Proterra, which was able to produce 550 buses over its 19-year existence before it went bankrupt in August.

Biden Admin Preparing to Finalize Barrage of Methane Regulations

November 26, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

The Biden administration is gearing up to finalize a host of emissions rules and regulations in the coming months, E&E News reported Wednesday.

The rules and regulations are all focused on methane, a greenhouse gas that is more potent, but dissipates more quickly, than carbon dioxide, and align with the administration’s commitment to attacking climate change with a “whole-of-government” response. The Biden administration is aiming to finalize the slew of methane regulations in the coming months ahead of the 2024 election, which would make the rules more difficult for a potential Republican administration to scrap should President Joe Biden lose, according to E&E News.

New IRS Guidelines for Electric Car Tax Credit ‘Recipe for Fraud,’ Tax Watchdog Warns

November 20, 2023 Just the News

New Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines for the federal electric vehicle (EV) tax credit are a “recipe for fraud,” warns the head of the Tax Foundation.

Consumers will now be able to automatically claim the tax credit at the point of sale on new or used EV purchases, rather than wait to claim it on their tax return, according to the latest Treasury Department guidance.

‘Too Favored to Fail:’ Taxpayers Bailout Biden’s Green Friends

November 8, 2023 RealClearWire

While America struggles to buy groceries, President Joe Biden has a green slush fund worth billions of dollars, and he’s not afraid to use it.

Recent revelations uncovered that the CEO and lobbyists of Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer, held a quiet meeting at the White House with Biden’s Climate Czar, John Podesta. That’s right, the same John Podesta who served as chairman of Hillary Clinton’s ill-fated 2016 presidential campaign before being pulled from the ranks of profitable green consulting to oversee distribution of $369 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Biden selected a political operative with green company ties to dole out the goodies from one of the largest slush funds in history. Now green CEOs who are hemorrhaging cash are beating a path to his White House office, presumedly with hat in hand.

The Cost of Covering American Roads with EVs Is Raising Some Big Speed Bumps

November 6, 2023 Just the News

With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, the federal government boosted tax credits, hoping to help American consumers wary of the higher sticker prices for electric vehicles (EVs) to warm up to them. In a further push, in May of this year, the EPA proposed emissions standards on new vehicles that are designed to make 60% of all new vehicle sales to be electric powered by 2030.

The automotive industry responded eagerly to the push for EVs, pledging to transform large portions of their business over to electric lines. A Reuters analysis in October 2022 estimated that 37 global automakers were planning $1.2 trillion in investments in EVs, batteries and materials for the transition through 2030.

Commentary: ‘EV’s for Everyone’ Mandates are Politically Risky and Practically Disastrous

October 30, 2023 RealClearWire

If we could imagine a time machine bringing to New York City, an American citizen from the 19th century, odds are the one thing that would seem the most amazing about our time would be the proliferation of the personal automobile. Big buildings, big cities, roads, nighttime illumination would all be imaginable, even if different looking and greater in scale. But the one thing radically different about modern daily life is the convenience and freedoms that come from a car.

Commentary: Turns Out The IRS Is After You, After All

October 10, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

When it was first revealed that the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” provided funding for 87,000 new IRS agents, Biden administration officials told Americans not to worry. They promised at every turn that these agents would only be set upon those earning over $400,000 a year.

But the Act has done nothing to reduce inflation, so it’s hardly surprisingly to learn now that an army of IRS agents has the middle class in its crosshairs.

Commentary: Voters Will Reject Inflation Reduction Act’s Assault on Medicare

October 5, 2023 RealClearWire

In the last few weeks, House Subcommittees have conducted important hearings on President Joe Biden’s implausibly named “Inflation Reduction Act” and its assault on Medicare.

The law is an assault on Medicare because it violates a core promise of the program – that in exchange for paying a special payroll tax your entire working life, the program will be there for you when you are older.

National Deficit, Inflation Soars Despite ‘Inflation Reduction Act’

September 18, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office reports that the federal government is borrowing far more this fiscal year than the year before even as inflation continues to rise.

The CBO released its deficit estimate which said the U.S. deficit hit about $1.5 trillion in the first 11 months of this fiscal year.

DeSantis Turns Down Millions in Incentives from Biden’s Signature Climate Bill

August 31, 2023August 30, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has effectively rejected nearly $350 million dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) designated for use in Florida, according to Politico.

The IRA, President Joe Biden’s signature climate spending bill, sets aside money for rebates for consumers to buy more efficient appliances that the Biden administration is pushing and to help low-income individuals buy solar panels for their homes, according to Politico. DeSantis and the Florida legislature have effectively refused $3 million set aside for cleaning up pollution, $5 million in federal funds to set up the appliance rebates program and $341 million to actually fund that program.

2024 Presidential Hopefuls Address Questions About the Future of the EPA and Biden Administration’s Climate Legislation

August 14, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

Several 2024 Republican presidential candidates would defund the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and repeal President Joe Biden’s signature climate law if elected, they told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Gas prices are rising, power plants are closing and regulations are impacting internal combustion engine vehicles and appliances like water heaters. Along with slashing the EPA and repealing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), many GOP hopefuls also pledged to withdraw from the United Nations Paris Climate Agreement if they secure the White House in 2024, several candidates told the DCNF.

One U.S. Solar Company Poised to Rake in $11 Billion in Subsidies

August 1, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

U.S.-based solar panel manufacturer First Solar may receive up to $11 billion in subsidies from the government thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to The Wall Street Journal.

The company expects to receive up to $710 million in subsidies this year alone, which is an amount equivalent to nearly 90% of its predicted operating profit for this year, according to the WSJ. Philip Shen, managing partner at investment bank Roth Capital Partners, estimates that the IRA may end up giving First Solar up to $11 billion in subsidies over the course of the next decade.

Effective Immediately: IRS Ends Unannounced Visits to Taxpayers

July 25, 2023July 24, 2023 Just the News

The IRS on Monday said it is ending its decades-long practice of agency revenue officers making unannounced visits to taxpayers, citing concerns over agent safety and an increase in scammers.

Biden Admin to Spend Nearly $1 Billion on Green Upgrades for Fed Buildings

June 21, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

The Biden administration will spend nearly $1 billion upgrading more than 100 federal buildings with green technology like heat pumps and solar panels, using funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

The General Services Administration (GSA) — which manages the U.S. government’s properties — is planning to make 100 federal facilities all-electric and 28 net-zero emissions, on a budget of $975 million, according to The Washington Post. The GSA is hoping that will attract roughly another $925 million in private sector investment, bringing total funding to roughly $1.9 billion, in an effort to revamp 40 million square feet of federal property, which is roughly 20% of all buildings managed by the GSA.

Commentary: BlackRock’s Larry Fink and the New Post-ESG Realism

March 30, 2023 RealClearWire

As regular as the turn of the seasons, each January sees Larry Fink, founder and CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, publish a lengthy letter on the state of the world and its implications for finance and investors. This year, January turned to February, and still no letter. Instead, February saw Tim Buckley, CEO of Vanguard, global number-two asset manager, give a groundbreaking interview explaining Vanguard’s decision late last year to quit the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative, which had been formed ahead of the 2021 Glasgow climate conference to reallocate capital in line with net zero emissions targets.

Recent IRS Controversies Raise Doubts About Auditing Army’s Potential Bias

February 27, 2023February 26, 2023 The Center Square

President Joe Biden’s call for funding for 87,000 IRS agents to audit Americans has raised questions about whether the new rash of auditing will target poorer Americans or be politically motivated.

The Inflation Reduction Act included $80 billion to beef up IRS efforts, which Biden says will more than pay for itself in new audits.

Chinese Communist Party-Linked Solar Panel Company Could Reap ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ Handouts with U.S. Factory

January 14, 2023January 13, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

JA Solar, a Chinese green energy giant whose chairman is tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has leased a plot of land in Phoenix, Arizona, to construct a $60 million solar panel factory that is poised to benefit from huge green energy tax incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Jin Baofang, chairman and CEO of the Bejing-based company, said that he had been a CCP member for 40 years during a 2020 interview with the Chinese state-run newspaper “The Paper.” The JA Solar factory, which could take advantage of the green energy tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), will create 600 jobs and use automated assembly lines to manufacture 2 gigawatts’ worth of solar panels annually once it becomes fully operational, according to a Tuesday Arizona Commerce Authority press release.

Commentary: With New Pricing Law, the Feds Can Make Drug Firms Offers They Really Can’t Refuse

December 28, 2022December 27, 2022 RealClearWire

President Biden has promised that the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law this August, will “lower the cost of prescription drugs and health care for families” thanks to provisions that allow the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate the price of some medications directly with pharmaceutical companies.

Critics are decidedly less enthusiastic. They say the IRA’s new drug price provisions are more akin to government price-fixing than negotiation – an unprecedented power grab in health care.

White House to Go on Offensive Against GOP as Gas Prices Drop

December 12, 2022December 11, 2022 Admin

The average price for a gallon of gas has fallen below what it was one year ago, and the White House is preparing to go on the offense politically as consumers see more money in their pockets ahead of the holidays. The administration argument? Thank President Biden.

Commentary: On Her Way Out, Pelosi Threatens Year-Long Continuing Resolution of ‘Last Resort’

December 6, 2022December 5, 2022 Admin

“[A]s an appropriator myself, left to their own devices, the Republicans and Democrats in a bipartisan way on the Appropriations Committee can reach a solution. But sadly we have no choice if they can’t that we would have to have a year-long [continuing resolution].”

Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has issued an ultimatum to House and Senate negotiators of the year-end omnibus bill that either they “reach a solution” or else the House will “have no choice” but to just pass the same omnibus bill they passed last year via a year-long continuing resolution until Sept. 30, 2023, effectively freezing federal spending.

REVIEW: The Book Climate Industrial Complex Doesn’t Want You to Read

November 14, 2022November 13, 2022 Florida Capital Star Staff

When it comes to environmental policy, the only “solutions” coming from liberal politicians activists involve radically restructuring society and centralizing more power in the government — while, of course, handing out billions in tax dollars to politically-favored special interests.

Whether it’s the Paris climate accords, Green New Deal or the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act, these political schemes to remake the economy often end up enriching the climate industrial complex and empowering unelected, unaccountable bureaucracies.

Commentary: The U.S. Senate’s ‘Spendthrift Seven’ Are the IRS’ Best Friends

November 8, 2022November 7, 2022 Admin

August 7 was a big day for the Spendthrift Seven. In just 12 hours, these Senate Democrats — all facing re-election Tuesday — gave the middle finger to middle-class taxpayers, hugged illegal aliens, and high-fived the IRS.

Arizona’s Mark Kelly, Colorado’s Michael Bennet, Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal, Georgia’s Raphael Warnock, Nevada’s Catherine Cortez Masto, New Hampshire’s Maggie Hassan and Washington’s Patty Murray did these things while the Senate considered President Joe Biden’s deceptively titled, 273-page Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Their votes should appall every American.

Commentary: Biden’s IRS Auditor Army Will Disrupt Economic Recovery

September 1, 2022August 31, 2022 RealClearWire

The Biden administration’s decision to recruit nearly 90,000 new IRS auditors could have a chilling effect on small businesses and economic growth, permanently impeding our nation’s ability to recover from its current economic malaise.

As part of the misleadingly titled “Inflation Reduction Act,” President Biden and his allies secured roughly $80 billion in new IRS funding to hire 87,000 auditors. This is bad news for the American economy.

Red States to Cash In on Dems’ Green Energy Bill

August 31, 2022August 30, 2022 Florida Capital Star Staff

The Inflation Reduction Act is pumping money for electric vehicle initiatives into Republican-led states with congressional representatives who unanimously opposed it.

The new law will offer a tax credit for the production of battery cells at a rate of $35 per kilowatt hour the battery can store, representing a credit of about 35% the cost for a company to fabricate a cell, according to Axios. A survey of major electric vehicle and battery production investments in the U.S. as of June 2022 reveals that roughly 2 out of every 3 are being built in a state with two Republican senators, according to data from Axios.

Biden’s New Spending Bill Supersizes the EPA’s Budget

August 21, 2022August 20, 2022 Admin

The Democrats’ massive climate spending package, which President Joe Biden signed into law on Tuesday, will give over $40 billion to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), just as the bill allocates almost $80 billion to expand the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The bill, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act, includes $369 billion in total climate spending, and will give the EPA more than $40 billion in the current fiscal year to combat climate change, enforce environmental standards and secure “environmental justice,” according to a Congressional Research Service report. The EPA’s enacted budget for 2022’s fiscal year was about $9.5 billion, according to the agency figures, meaning the bill will more than quadruple the EPA’s current annual spending.

Analysis: The Inflation Reduction Act Farce

August 14, 2022August 13, 2022 Florida Capital Star Staff

In a major reversal, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D–WV) struck a deal with Senator Chuck Schumer (D–NY) to enact a major climate, entitlement, and tax bill. This legislation has been praised by President Biden, Al Gore, and other proponents of highly progressive policies.

Analysis: 10 Actions to Reduce Energy Prices That Won’t Cost Taxpayers $740 Billion

August 13, 2022August 12, 2022 The Center Square

Rather than impose higher taxes and more restrictions on domestic production of oil and natural gas, as Senate Democrats voted to do by passing the Inflation Reduction Act, those in the industry proposed 10 actions policy makers can take right now to reduce costs. The industry says its solutions won’t cost taxpayers $740 billion, as the Inflation Reduction Act does, or increase the national debt or inflation, as 230 economists have warned the act will do.

Harvard University Denied Tax Cut After Lobbying to Senate Democrats

August 11, 2022August 10, 2022 Florida Capital Star Staff

Harvard University’s request for an endowment tax cut was denied despite frequent lobbying to Senate Democrats for its inclusion in the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 with tax increases on corporations and energy firms but did not include plans to lower the endowment tax, which is tax paid on income from individual donors to colleges, according to the bill. Senior Executive Director of Federal Relations at Harvard University Suzanne Day sent an email in July urging Democratic Senators to eliminate the tax in the upcoming bill.

Commentary: ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ Will Throw Fuel on the Flames of Stagflation

August 3, 2022August 2, 2022 Florida Capital Star Staff

The folly of the Biden administration’s recently announced “Inflation Reduction Act” recalls Orwellian slogans such as “Slavery is Freedom.” The plan will throw fuel on the flames of stagflation while accelerating environmental deterioration. The act would raise an estimated $739 billion through tax increases and heightened IRS scrutiny to then invest $306 billion in “deficit reduction” and $369 billion in “energy security and climate change” to “reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030.” If ever there were a proposal that failed out the gate, this is one.