Peltola votes against stopping ‘green’ fraud and corruption slush fund, tax on natural gas

Rep. Mary Peltola stuck with her House Democrats and voted against the “Cutting Green Corruption and Taxes Act” on March 22. House Resolution 1023 passed 209-204, with one Democrat, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, voting with the majority.

The bill reverses a slush fund created in the Inflation Reduction Act, passed in 2022 and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

In the IRA, a $27 billion slush fund was created for “green energy” projects. It funds special interests, climate activists, and their Democrat political allies. That $27 billion is destined to be distributed by September, if H.R. 1023 doesn’t pass the Senate and isn’t signed by the president.

Nick Begich, a Republican running for Congress in Alaska, applauded the passage of the measure: “Any action the government takes that favors one form of energy over another, ultimately increases the cost of energy to consumers. This is another example of Democrats picking winners and losers in what should be a free market. Congressman Palmer’s leadership in correcting this component of the deceptive ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ is a big step in the right direction.”

Alaska received $30 million in various green energy and “climate resilience” projects through the federal slush fund process recently, as announced by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski last week. A review of the projects by Must Read Alaska shows that many of them are political in nature and would have nothing to do with reversing “climate change.”

Following the passage of the Cutting Green Corruption and Taxes Act, bill sponsor Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama said, “This is a major step towards securing American energy and reducing energy costs. This is a win for the American people. The Democrats’ misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) allowed the EPA to use $27 billion to create a ‘Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.’ This is nothing more than a slush fund that does nothing to aid the environment. Instead, it funds special interest groups, climate activists, and political allies that make no impact on the climate. This bill eliminates $27 billion of waste and shifts the focus to where it should be, affordable and reliable American energy.”

The Cutting Green Corruption and Taxes Act also reverses a new tax on natural gas, of critical importance to Alaskans, especially the population between Kenai and Fairbanks that is facing higher costs as Cook Inlet gas development has been stymied by the Biden Administration. In 2022, President Biden canceled one million acres of leases in Cook Inlet; by the winter of 2023-24, Anchorage residents were already facing critical gas shortages during several days of sub-zero temperatures.

Palmer addressed the need to reverse the new natural gas tax: “In order to help the American people and lower energy costs, we should be focusing on expanding access to natural gas. Unfortunately, the Democrats’ IRA also implemented a tax on natural gas. This tax has made energy less affordable and less reliable for Americans already struggling under the weight of inflation. I’m glad Rep. August Pfluger’s hard work to repeal this detrimental natural gas tax is included in this legislation.”

Starting in 2026, the Inflation Reduction Act has a tax on methane emissions. The tax starts at $900 per ton and rises to $1,500 per ton after two years. The Congressional Budget Office writes in an analysis that this would raise $6.35 billion over the next decade, the Tax Foundation writes.

Palmer urged the Senate to pass the legislation, but the Senate is controlled by Democrats, and the president has already said he will veto HR 1023, should it ever reach his desk.

“At a time when our national debt is out of control and families are struggling to make ends meet, President Biden is determined to make things worse,” Palmer said. “H.R. 1023 would reign in wasteful government spending by eliminating the $27 billion slush fund and lower energy costs for families by removing the natural gas tax put in place by the deceptively named Inflation Reduction Act. Threatening to veto this bill once again shows the Biden administration values green energy special interests over the well-being of American citizens.”