House Tax Bill Is Another Scheme to Enrich Wealthy Corporate Polluters

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, House Republicans unveiled another effort to funnel millions more into the pockets of corporate polluters, this time in the form of tax legislation that includes billions in giveaways for corporate polluters, millionaires, and billionaires, while endangering programs that protect the health and safety of American families and ending tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles and interfering with tax credits for wind and solar energy. These bad tax policies will ultimately be bundled with other provisions that dramatically cut lifesaving programs and vital agencies such as EPA and DOI and open up the Arctic Refuge for oil and gas drilling.  

In response, Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce released the following statement:

“This tax bill is a get-much-richer-quicker scheme concocted by Congressional Republicans on behalf of corporate polluters and billionaires. These provisions allow the rich to get richer and dirty corporate polluters to profit at the expense of our health and wallets-- all while ending tax credits for people switching to cleaner technologies like electric vehicles and likely opening up the pristine Arctic Refuge to dirty oil drilling.It’s the continuation of the dangerous pro-polluter agenda that took hold when Republicans took control of Congress and got exponentially worse under the Trump Administration.

“We cannot allow corporate polluters to benefit at the cost of working families and the middle class who are already being forced to breathe dirtier air and drink dirtier water as a result of Trump and these House Republican efforts. If they are truly looking to benefit the American people, they should reject this legislation, cut the billions in tax giveaways big oil, gas, and coal companies get annually and stop threatening programs that protect our families, a healthy environment, and our wild legacy.”