At a heated committee hearing focused on the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Representative Chip Roy (R) issued a blunt and uncompromising warning to Senate lawmakers considering changes to the landmark legislation’s green energy subsidies.
“You backslide one inch on those IRA subsidies and I'm voting against this bill,” Rep. Chip Roy declared during his remarks. “Because those god forsaken subsidies are killing our energy, killing our grid, making us weaker, destroying our landscape, undermining our freedom. I'm not going to have it.”
The hearing brought renewed attention to the deep partisan divide surrounding the IRA’s environmental provisions. The law, passed in 2022, marked the largest climate investment in U.S. history, allocating hundreds of billions of dollars toward clean energy incentives, electric vehicles, and decarbonization initiatives. But for lawmakers like Roy, those subsidies represent a threat, not just to traditional energy sectors, but to the country’s broader economic and strategic posture.
“So, you do what you want to do in the Senate, House of Lords, have your fun,” Roy added pointedly. “But if you mess up the Inflation Reduction Act, Green New Scam subsidies, I ain't voting for that bill.”
His comments drew support from some conservative advocates, including Daniel Turner, Founder and Executive Director of Power the Future, an organization that promotes the interests of energy workers, especially in rural America.
“I started my organization to advocate for energy workers in rural America,” Turner said. “It has come to light that on the other side of the fight, the climate movement, received billions from taxpayers. That is the abuse I wish to highlight.”
Turner’s critique reflects a broader concern among Republicans and fossil fuel advocates that taxpayer-funded subsidies for clean energy are disproportionately benefiting large corporations, urban areas, and international green investors, while leaving behind domestic energy workers in coal, oil, and gas.
Democrats, however, have continued to defend the IRA as a necessary step toward tackling the climate crisis and modernizing the U.S. energy grid. While some discussions in the Senate have hinted at minor revisions to funding formulas or implementation timelines, GOP hardliners like Roy are signaling there is no room for compromise.
As Congress faces pressure to pass new budget measures and energy-related legislation, Roy’s remarks may foreshadow a deeper battle over the IRA’s future. For now, his message to Senate leaders is clear: don’t touch the subsidies, or risk losing his support.
