Congress Passes Historically Ruinous Tax Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the final legislative step, the House of Representatives passed a massive tax package that will cut taxes for the wealthiest while gutting incentives for clean energy and electric vehicles and establishing the largest auction in U.S. history of public lands and oceans to oil, coal, and gas interests.
The following is a statement from Manish Bapna, president of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“Every lawmaker who voted for this cynical measure chose tax cuts for the wealthiest over Americans' health, pocketbooks, public lands, and waters—and a safe climate. They should be ashamed.
“This measure gives the wealthiest a tax break while the rest of us will pay more on our electric bills and at the pump. So much for President Trump’s promise to save Americans money on their energy bills.
“This Trump energy tax will cost electricity customers billions of dollars in higher bills. Drivers will need to fill up more often at the pump. And costs for things like cleaner cars, solar energy, and efficient air conditioners will skyrocket.
“We urgently need more clean, affordable energy, but this measure would bring the renaissance in American clean energy production to a halt and send good, domestic manufacturing jobs to our foreign rivals.
“Oil executives, industrial loggers, and coal CEOs can all celebrate today as they gain unprecedented access to drill, log and mine on our public lands. The rest of us will soon find no trespassing signs on lands that have belonged to all of us for more than a century.”
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).