Latest news with #ReconciliationBill
Forbes
09-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Big Budget Bill Triple Whammy: Energy Prices, Economy, And Environment
The Reconciliation Bill (also known as the 'One Big Beautiful Bill') was passed by the US House of Representatives by one vote. It proposes to eliminate tax credits and other funding for electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy. According to a Princeton University energy policy report, the House-passed version of the Bill, currently under consideration in the Senate, raises three red flags: for our household energy bills, our economy, and our environment. The House bill would raise US household and business energy expenditures by 25 billion USD annually in 2030 and over 50 billion USD in 2035. An average household will see a rise in energy costs of $100-$160 per year in 2030, and between $270 and $415 per year in 2035. This amounts to a 9% average rise in energy prices across the 2030 — but as much as 17% in TX, OK and PA. The energy price increases come at a time when more than a third of Americans are struggling to afford their power bill. The situation is worse for renters and those making under $50,000 per year, nearly one-half of whom struggle to pay their electric bills (compared to about a third in 2023), according to the electric utility industry group Energy Central. The increase in household energy expenditures is because the Reconciliation Bill would repeal most financial incentives for building renewable electricity sources like solar, wind, and battery storage, which now generate electricity cheaper than do fossil fuels. Older folks may remember when the Japanese beat out American auto manufacturers because the US companies refused to recognize the burgeoning demand for smaller vehicles. The House version of the Reconciliation Bill will help America repeat this mistake. While Chinese manufacturer BYD is moving ahead with inexpensive, high quality EVs, the Reconciliation Bill could reduce annual US sales of electric vehicles by roughly 40% in 2030 and end America's battery manufacturing boom. This despite a recent 15% growth in EV sales in the U.S., a near quadrupling in Brazil, sevenfold increase in Viet Nam, and 50% increase in sales in India during the first quarter of 2024. According to the International Energy Agency, the maturing EV market has shown robust growth, with 2024 sales to surpass those of 2023 by more than 20% and EVs to reach a share in total car sales of more than one-fifth. If the US is to remain competitive in a global market, it needs to expand its EV manufacturing capacity. The solar industry faces similar threats. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Texas, home to the fastest-growing solar market in the country, will lose 34,100 jobs by 2030. Florida, a state that has already installed enough solar capacity to power 2 million homes, stands to lose nearly 22,000 jobs. Were the incentives included under the Biden administration for renewables like solar and wind be maintained, we would reduce American dependence on foreign oil, and thus boost our national security. The result of proposed tax policy changes in the House-passed Reconciliation Bill would significantly slow US progress towards renewable energy and a healthier environment. According to Energy Innovation, a non-partisan think tank, repealing federal clean energy funding and tax credits would increase air pollution, particularly impacting those who live near power plants. Climate emissions would also rise, an outcome that impacts all of us regardless of where we live. Interestingly, the new field of attribution science makes it possible to determine the contribution of climate change to a single extreme weather event, like a particular heat wave or flood, and to calculate the proportional responsibility for that event of a specific source of emissions, like a fossil fuel company. This ability to follow disasters to their source is being used in an increasing number of lawsuits around the world. Getting back to the House version of the Reconciliation Bill, its impact will be to increase US greenhouse gas emissions by roughly a half billion metric tons per year by 2030 and more than 1 billion metric tons per year by 2035 – the equivalent of adding 219 million cars to the road. The House-passed bill would also kill the nascent clean hydrogen, CO2 management, and nuclear power sectors. Rob Orvis, senior director at Energy Innovation, captured the three clean energy-related impacts of the current Reconciliation Bill in comments to The Guardian: 'This bill is worse than what people envisioned – it pulls the rug out from facilities banking on [EV and clean energy] Government incentives for EV and solar power have been an unusual coming together of our household finance, economic, and environmental interests. They have contributed to economic growth and declining climate emissions. Let's try to keep it that way in the future.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Capitol View: Sen. Tom Cotton, Jeremy Hutchinson pardon
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – With the U.S. House passing President Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' attention now turns to the U.S. Senate. Capitol View host Roby Brock met with Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton for his take on the Reconciliation Bill and where he could see the Senate taking it. Roby then gave a closer look at President Donald Trump's recent pardon of former State Senator Jeremy Hutchinson. Capitol View airs on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mountain Bikers Celebrate as Public Lands Sell-Off Amendment Removed from Reconciliation Bill
The International Mountain Biking Association and other outdoor recreation and conservation organizations are breathing a sigh of relief after an amendment to sell off nearly 500,000 acres in Utah and Nevada was removed from the Reconciliation Bill that passed the House last night at 10 p.m. ET. 'Outdoor advocates were heard loud and clear: Our public lands are not for sale,' Todd Keller, Director of Government Affairs, International Mountain Bicycling Association, said in a statement today. 'IMBA thanks the mountain bikers, the climbers, the hunters, the hikers and every outdoor user group for coming together on this vital issue. Public lands are essential for trails, outdoor recreation, thriving economies and healthy communities. We all must remain engaged to protect our public lands and uphold the public process that enables those protections.' The House Natural Resources Committee added the amendment to President Donald Trump's 'One Big, Beautiful Bill' that would sell some 500,000 acres in Utah and Nevada to local governments, which then could sell that land to private entities. Land adjacent to Zion National Park in Utah and surrounding Las Vegas, Nevada, was among the land proposed for sell-off to help off-set tax cuts and costs proposed in the bill. BLM and U.S. Forest Service land used by mountain bikers, including Bear Claw Poppy Trail and Hurricane Cliffs Trail systems in Utah, would have potentially been off-limits in the future had the amendment not been stricken. Supporters of the amendment said it would have generated revenue for the federal government and provided land for housing. Detractors said it would lock the public out of outdoor recreation areas and benefit only wealthy private citizens and corporations, as well as paving the way for even greater public land sell-offs in the future. Programs such as Medicaid and other social and environmental provisions remain under threat in the bill. 'The [Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership] is encouraged to see provisions removed from the House budget reconciliation bill that would sell off public lands. Hunters and anglers stepped into the arena to make their voices heard, and members of Congress listened—thank you,' said Joel Pedersen, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. 'In particular, we thank Congressmen Zinke, Downing, and Simpson for their strident advocacy on behalf of America's hunters, anglers, and outdoor recreationists. We also appreciate the efforts of the House Natural Resources Committee and House leadership on their role in an outcome that maintains the public's ability to weigh in on actions affecting our public lands. We remain committed to working with lawmakers to resolve challenges with public lands management and to find solutions that are in the public interest.' Former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke (R-MT), Rep. Troy Downing (R-MT) and Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) played crucial roles in having the amendment stricken from the greater bill. Zinke, along with Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) created the bipartisan Public Lands Caucus to help protect public lands. 'This was my San Juan Hill; I do not support the widespread sale or transfer of public lands,' Zinke said in a press release that goes on to support the bill. 'Once land is sold, we will never get it back. God isn't creating more land.' While the IMBA and other organizations celebrate the removal of the public land sell-off amendment, conservation and environment groups remain concerned about remaining provisions in the bill that would increase leasing on public lands for mining, increase royalty rates for oil and gas projects, and ease environmental protection. The bill narrowly passed the House in a 215-214 vote Wednesday night. The bill now heads to the Senate for debate and a final vote. If passed, it then goes to the President's desk for signature.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SDSU prepares for federal education cutbacks
BROOKINGS, SD (KELO) — The president of South Dakota State University has concerns over the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill' passed early Thursday morning in the U.S. House. The bill's provisions include an overhaul of student aid, which critics say will drive up costs for students. Governor Rhoden and Attorney General Marty Jackley tour the southern border The bill's passage comes just one day after university presidents met with the South Dakota Board of Regents to discuss how proposed cutbacks within the U.S. Department of Education will impact their schools. Administrators at South Dakota State University have already been tightening their belts in anticipation of fewer federal dollars flowing into the school. 'We hadn't put things in a freezer, but that we had them in a cooler. So we're trying to slow spending for travel and for purchasing equipment,' SDSU President Barry Dunn said. SDSU President Barry Dunn says the Reconciliation Bill passed in the House will mean fewer research grants for the school, a trend that's already being felt on campus. 'Research activities here at SDSU have slowed down, research activities all across the nation, in human health and agriculture for example, have slowed dramatically and that's concerning,' Dunn said. Dunn says the bill will also make it harder for students to access tuition grants and loans. 'The proposed cuts are very dramatic, cutting programs like work-study, the TRiO program, cutting completely out some loans, some federal loans,' Dunn said. A federal judge has dealt the Trump Administration a blow by pausing efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and ordering laid-off workers back on the job. 'I think the orders that the president has made through executive orders have certainly been provocative and opened up the discussion, but I think the judges have stepped in have probably helped us all by slowing things down,' Dunn said. Dunn says fall enrollment at SDSU is looking good. But he anticipates federal cutbacks in education could lead to uncertainty for students and programs starting next year. Dunn says the school is asking the SDSU Foundation to provide more scholarship money for students due to the potential of fewer grants and loans coming from the federal government. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNBC
21-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
These stocks could be key players in Trump's 'Golden Dome' project
President Donald Trump's plans for a " Golden Dome " missile defense system could be a catalyst for a handful of stocks. On Tuesday, Trump unveiled details of the defense system. He forecast that the project would be complete before the end of his term and estimated that the total cost of the project would be $175 billion. He said that an initial $25 billion would be earmarked in a sweeping spending package , which is currently being weighed by Congress. The Golden Dome is similar to Israel's missile deterrent system, the so-called "Iron Dome," which has been in use since 2011. Analysts on Wall Street were already optimistic on shares of defense and aerospace giants RTX , Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin before Trump's Tuesday announcement. Lockheed and RTX were among the companies name-checked during the event , as was L3Harris Technologies . The stock reaction so far has been largely lackluster following Trump's press conference, as the broader market traded lower on Wednesday . Shares of Lockheed, RTX and Northrop were marginally lower. L3Harris bucked the trend with a gain of about 1%. "The program details remain scarce, but with a 4-star general appointed (General Michael Guetlein) to lead the effort, the level of importance to the administration is obvious. The $25B in the Reconciliation Bill and President Trump's sizing of the program at $175B also underscore the program's significance," Wolfe Research analyst Myles Walton wrote in a Tuesday note. In fact, Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet addressed Trump's defense project on the company's earnings call last month, and asserted that the firm is "literally ready to go when the starting gun goes off." Shares of Lockheed have slipped nearly 3% so far in 2025. Just shy of half of analyst covering the stock rate it a buy or strong buy, per LSEG, and consensus price targets call for more than 11% upside. LMT YTD mountain Lockheed Martin stock in 2025. Baird analyst Peter Arment said in late April that Lockheed Martin is in the "enviable position of potentially securing content across all four segments" of defense. His outperform rating and $540 per share price target implies about 13% upside from Tuesday's $475.82 close. Elsewhere, JPMorgan analyst Seth Seifman pointed to L3Harris Technologies as another potential beneficiary of the project. The analyst's overweight rating and $255 per share price target calls for more than 10% upside from Tuesday's $230.82 close. The analyst pointed out that L3Harris likely received the lion's share of attention during the press conference due to its domestic manufacturing facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana. More than seven out of 10 analysts polled by LSEG have a buy or strong buy rating on L3Harris, with their consensus price targets calling for more than 10% upside. LHX YTD mountain L3Harris stock in 2025. "We could see a positive stock reaction to the briefing for LHX, with Indiana Senator Jim Banks highlighting the company's involvement with Golden Dome," Seifman said. On Northrop Grumman, RBC Capital Markets analyst Ken Herbert pointed to the Golden Dome as one of several "emerging opportunities" that could support upside to the company's full-year revenue, given its current work on the Integrated Battle Command System. Herbert has an outperform rating on Northrop stock, alongside a $575 per share price target that implies nearly 21% upside from Tuesday's $476.60 close. NOC YTD mountain Northrop Grumman stock in 2025.
