Senate Finance Committee Budget Would Raise Energy Costs for Americans

Washington, DC., June 16, 2005 - Cost saving energy efficiency tax credits would be terminated under a legislative proposal released in the U.S. Senate yesterday.

The plan from the Senate Finance Committee would be part of President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," a massive budget reconciliation measure that could pass the Senate with a simple majority. Among other things, it eliminates tax credits for a broad swath of energy saving technologies such as home energy efficiency improvements and new energy-efficient homes.

"This Senate draft does little to improve upon last month's House-passed bill, meaning that every day Americans will carry the burden of rising energy costs," said Paula Glover, president of the Alliance to Save Energy. "The plan to terminate tax credits for home energy efficiency and other critical programs will increase energy bills for people who can least afford it."

The proposal would eliminate highly successful programs, such as:

Home efficiency tax credits (25c, 45L) have been around for more than 30 years. These tax incentives are bipartisan policies that reduce energy demand, lower costs and deliver tangible benefits to families, businesses and the broader economy.

The Energy Efficient Home Credit (25C) supports 240,000 local American jobs, mostly small businesses including manufacturing and construction jobs. More than 2.3 million households claimed $6 billion in 25C tax credits in 2023 with an average household savings of $882.

"Energy efficiency supports more 2.3 million American jobs, many of which are in skilled trades like construction and manufacturing," said Sapna Gheewala-Dowla, the Alliance's associate vice president of policy and research. "At the same time, efficiency improvements have saved consumers an estimated $800 billion in energy costs - savings that stay in local economies and help keep businesses competitive."