Republican spending cuts would cost thousands of jobs, report finds

A bill introduced by House Republicans that would cut more than $1 trillion in government spending would cause the loss of tens of thousands of clean energy jobs, according to a new report issued by Climate Power, a research and polling group that works to influence lawmakers in the area of climate change policy.

The report, published on April 27, found the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would raise the debt ceiling in exchange for $1.5 trillion in cuts to the federal budget, would result in the loss of  77,261 clean energy jobs that had been announced in 72 Republican-held districts. The report says the jobs were created by the Inflation Reduction Act that Democrats passed in 2022 and Republicans have vowed to repeal.

“MAGA House Republicans voted to raise energy costs for working families and kill American clean energy jobs,” Climate Power Executive Director Lori Lodes said in a statement. “They chose to fight for an extremist agenda that lets Big Oil CEOs pollute and harm our communities, rather than support their constituents who stand to gain the most from our turbocharged clean energy economy.”

Many of the cuts would occur in competitive districts held by GOP lawmakers who are up for reelection and who voted for the cuts.

Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY), one of 18 Republicans representing districts President Joe Biden carried in 2020, could see 9,000 jobs lost in his district, the report found.

Reps. Mark Molinaro (R-NY) and Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), who also represent Biden-carried districts, would see 500 and 245 clean energy job cuts a respectively if the Limit, Save, Grow Act became law. 

Environmental activist groups are already hammering those Republican lawmakers for voting for the Limit, Save, Grow Act.

CNN reported that Climate Power and the League of Conservation Voters are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads targeting Molinaro, Ciscomani, and Williams, along with Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

The ads say that Republicans’ “reckless demands will kill countless American jobs, even jobs in their own hometowns, because for MAGA extremists it’s never about your jobs or our economy; it’s always about pushing their extreme agenda.”

House Majority PAC, a super PAC working to elect Democrats, said it too will target those members for voting for the Limit, Save, Grow Act.

“Any Republican who voted to drive us even closer to a default crisis so they can slash education, veteran’s benefits, clean air and water, and cancer research will have Kevin McCarthy to blame when they lose re-election,” House Majority PAC Executive Director Abby Curran Horrell said in a statement after the bill passed. “House Majority PAC will ensure these MAGA extremists are held accountable and voted out in 2024.”

The Limit, Save, Grow Act has no chance of becoming law. The bill, which passed the House by a small margin, is dead on arrival in the Democratic-held Senate, and President Joe Biden says he would veto it if it did somehow pass both chambers.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.