ICYMI: Senate Democrats Spotlight Skyrocketing Energy Costs Amidst Cost-of-Living Crisis

Washington, D.C. - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) and Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR), hosted a roundtable with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CN); Senator Ed Markey (D-MA); Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor under the Clinton Administration; and power sector experts to discuss how the Trump Administration's policies have driven up energy prices for working families.

"When you wonder why your power bill is so much higher than last year, don't be fooled. Know who to blame," said Ranking Member Whitehouse. "Power bills are up 13% since January 2025, almost 3 times faster than inflation. More rate hikes are coming. Trump's campaign pledge to cut your energy prices in half was a lie. Instead he's forcing American households to pay billions, all to line the pockets of his fossil fuel cronies."

"The story is simple: Trump promised to end wars and lower energy prices. He's done the precise opposite,"?said Ranking Member Heinrich. "He waged a war at home against American-made clean energy. And then he started a war in the Middle East without a plan, heavily affecting our energy supply. And it is families that are bearing the brunt in an economy that already makes it hard to put food on the table. Folks, this is not an affordability hoax, as the president likes to calls it. It is a very real energy affordability crisis."

"On the campaign trail, Trump promised to cut energy bills in half. In reality, Trump is more likely to double Americans' energy costs by the end of his presidency,"?said Leader Schumer.? "Simply put, Trump's policies-his war of choice in Iran, his corrupt giveaways to Big Oil, and his assault on clean energy-have sent energy prices soaring. And instead of helping American families lower their energy bills, Trump is running a pay-to-play scheme to help his billionaire buddies in the fossil fuel industry. Working American families are paying the price for Trump's broken promises."?

Witnesses included the Honorable Robert B. Reich, former Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton; Catherine Zingg, Tribal Policy Director at Tribal Energy Alternatives; Anya Poplavska, Senior Policy Advocate at Acadia Center; and Greg Wannier, senior attorney at the Sierra Club.

Highlights from EPW and ENR's roundtable:

ANYA POPLAVSKA: "Offshore wind promises to save hundreds of millions of dollars in energy costs for rate payers every year. Imagine you're a marathon runner and just one mile from the finish line, you're suddenly taken out of the race without any explanation. That's exactly the best way to think about what's happening with offshore wind right now, where policies are disrupting the progress of resources we know can reliably provide power quickly and cost-effectively."

SECRETARY ROBERT REICH: "There's no question that this administration is promoting fossil fuels that are costly to the environment, costly to climate, costly to consumers, and hurting consumers .... The reason is because of a dirty deal that was made, and continues to be made, between the oil companies, the fossil fuel producers, and this administration .... It's one of the most corrupt returns on investment I know of .... the oil industry, Big Oil, is probably the biggest corrupter right now. And this particular deal with the administration ... stands out because it's paid for multi multi multi times by average people, average working people, who are seeing their bills go up because of this deal."

GREG WANNIER: "Secretary Wright has issued thirteen 90-day orders to six old, expensive power plants on the eve of each of their planned retirements, forcing them to remain operational, and has said that more are on their way. Not one of these orders was requested by the relevant plant owner, grid operator, or state or regional regulator whose responsibility it is to keep the lights on. To the contrary, those same grid-responsible entities had already determined that the plants could retire without destabilizing the grid, and in many cases had linked retirement of the power plants with construction plans for cheaper and cleaner replacements ... In our best estimate, the thirteen 202c orders issued so far have already cost ratepayers in those states over 230 million dollars."

CATHERINE ZINGG: "The Trump Administration issued termination notices for all Solar For All grants, including fully obligated funds, in August 2025. This meant over a $500 million loss for American Indian and Alaskan Native Communities. This program would have delivered meaningful cost savings to families on Tribal lands. [The Western Indigenous Network Solar For All program, one of five awards under the $7 billion Solar for All program,] was designed to deploy more than 14 megawatts of residential-serving solar projects across six Western states, providing at least 20 percent electricity bill savings to more than 2,900 Tribal households. In total, participating households were projected to save more than $94 million in electricity costs over time, or roughly $1,300 per household per year. Direct savings alone would have amounted to more than $1.52 for every Solar For All dollar spent. The health, environmental, and climate benefits from reduced pollution would have increased this return on investment even further. But beyond all of the combined dollars in savings and economic benefits provided to the Tribes, this program meant advancing Tribal energy sovereignty, allowing Tribal governments greater control over how energy is generated and used within their communities."