Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, hinted at changes to the Republican-led tax package, particularly on provisions repealing clean energy tax credits that were passed under the Biden administration.
In the budget resolution passed last week, which seeks to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda on a slew of issues, Republicans approved language to repeal or phase out a number of green energy tax credits previously approved in the Inflation Reduction Act. Those provisions have divided Republicans as some have warned against repealing certain credits that boost energy production.
Curtis returned to Utah this week to expand on that message.
“It very clearly is a problem for the future, and I’ll say not just of clean energy, but of energy” in general, Curtis told the Deseret News at a press conference in Erda, Tooele County, with Fluence, a clean energy company.
While the House-passed budget framework “dramatically curtailed” many of those green energy tax credits, Curtis said there is a desire among some GOP lawmakers to preserve a handful of incentives in the final text.
“My friends in the House kind of called me up to say, ‘Listen, we’re counting on you to fix it,’” Curtis said. “So I think even many of them knew that what they sent over did need some work, and that’s now our job in the Senate to put our stamp on that and have it speak for our will.”
“And I think if I have anything to say about it,” he added, “I’ll make sure that we’re taking into account our energy future.”
The budget proposal, coined as the “Big Beautiful Bill Act,” would repeal many of the tax credits aimed toward incentivizing businesses to utilize clean energy to address the effects of climate change. That language was tucked into the larger framework by Republicans who lamented that the Inflation Reduction Act was drafted and passed solely by Democrats, demanding it be fully repealed to pave the way for their own party’s agenda.
However, some Republicans have cautioned against a full repeal of Biden’s signature climate bill, warning it could lead to “significant disruptions” and weaken the United States on the global stage.
A group of GOP senators, including Curtis, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., last month to consider “each existing tax credit” for its ability to spur domestic manufacturing, reduce utility costs, and ensure businesses receive “meaningful U.S. investments” based on the current tax structure.
By doing that, they argued, beneficial credits can be protected while cutting costly programs that don’t have substantial support.
Curtis said conversations are ongoing about how to address the clean energy credits, noting many of his GOP colleagues “don’t like it because we weren’t included in it (and) we didn’t get a chance to vote for it.”
But he argued the Inflation Reduction Act contains “a lot of Utah/Republican/conservative principles … that we want to make sure that we make good decisions on.”
Those decisions, he argued, are crucial to Trump’s desire to be energy dominant.
The Senate will begin consideration next week on the Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s budget framework advancing policies on border, energy, national defense and tax reform. Republican leaders hope to pass the megabill and have it signed by Trump before the Fourth of July.
However, if changes are made in the Senate, it will need to be passed by the House again — which could be easier said than done if any language is stripped out.
