Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Four GOP senators have signed a letter urging Senate leaders to protect the IRA's energy credits from cuts in budget reconciliation.
Why it matters: Four Republican "no" votes would be enough to sink any party-line legislation in the upper chamber.
- The letter — signed by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, John Curtis, Thom Tillis and Jerry Moran — is the first such public demand from senators after growing House GOP support for defending the credits.
Zoom in: The senators, writing to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, emphasized many companies had made significant energy investments based on the tax credits.
- "A wholesale repeal, or the termination of certain individual credits, would create uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, long-term project planning, and job creation in the energy sector and across our broader economy," they wrote.
- "Given rising energy demand, it is imperative that any modifications to the tax code avoid worsening the economic pressures that American households and businesses already face," they wrote.
Between the lines: The letter didn't highlight specific tax credits. But the four senators' states include a breadth of solar, wind, manufacturing, mining, and biofuels interests.
- That translates to credits such as the tech-neutral investment and production tax credits for electricity projects, 45X for manufacturing, 45Z for clean transportation fuels.
- The letter also alludes to keeping the transferability feature of the tax credits.
Flashback: The Senate letter closely tracks with a House letter last month led by Rep. Andrew Garbarino that was signed by 20 other House Republicans.
What they're saying: Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, a conservative energy association, publicized the letter.
- "The signatories of this letter are right: Thoughtful and scalpel-like approaches to energy and manufacturing tax incentives demand precise action, not an indiscriminatory, sledgehammer approach," said CRES President Heather Reams.
