In August of 2022, the U.S. Government passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which is easily one of the most consequential pieces of legislation signed into law in recent years as it takes on the budget deficit, lowered prescription drug prices, and is the single largest climate and energy bill ever passed by Congress. Nearly $1 trillion in new energy investments are offered, including money for manufacturing, retrofits, efficiency, environmental justice, land use, agriculture, transportation, air and land pollution reduction, and resilience projects.

There are also several energy programs that aim to close the divide between rural and urban communities in regard to energy, including Empowering Rural America (New ERA), Rural Energy for America (REAP), and Powering Affordable Clean Energy Program (PACE).

However, just as soon as we have made these tremendous gains in climate and energy across the nation, this forward progress is also under threat.

In June of this year, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee passed an appropriations bill specifically cutting New ERA, PACE, and REAP, aiming to roll back these once-in-a-lifetime investments in our energy systems that would almost entirely benefit rural communities who have been left behind, resulting in higher energy costs and higher rates of pollution in rural areas. We have also seen rural energy face a growing threat as aging systems that are reliant on inefficient and high-polluting energy sources become less reliable and at greater risk from modern threats and modern demands.

If the House Appropriations Committee is successful in rolling back these energy investments, we can expect that rural America will suffer dire consequences and fall even further behind. 

These decisions will be happening in the coming weeks as Congress tries to pass funding packages to avoid a government shutdown. 

This is why we must take action now — and why we are calling on you, as a friend or member of our Alliance, to send a letter today to your House Representative demanding they protect these investments being made in our communities and our energy systems. We can only benefit from protecting these critical programs.

Our communities are relying on this funding to keep our energy costs down, our air, water, and land clean, and our energy systems reliable and resilient. Please take action now!