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Senate GOP’s Clean Energy Repeal and What It Means for Bill Costs, Jobs, and Our Planet

Our latest analysis of the Senate bill text

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer speaking at a podium next to a sign that says

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Introduction

Breaking news: Senate Republicans just released a portion of their disastrous bill proposal that is expected to kill jobs, raise household energy bills, and worsen pollution. The Senate’s latest committee proposal comes on the heels of House Republicans’ extreme tax bill package, which passed last month with devastating cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and clean energy tax credits. 

The Senate Republicans Committee on Environment and Public Works (“EPW”) and Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (“ENR”) portions of the Senate bill make minor changes to the House version, but make no mistake: This bill remains terrible. Republicans are trying to raise your energy bills and destroy thousands of American jobs—simply to line the pockets of billionaires, fossil fuel executives, and their top corporate backers with massive tax cuts.

We’ve compiled our policy analysis of the latest Senate EPW bill text, as well as the recently released bill from the Senate ENR Committee to explain how it differs from the House bill and how these sweeping cuts will harm your pocketbooks, health, and planet. The Senate Committee on Finance, and other Senate committees are expected to release more bill text in the coming days. Check back here for our latest analysis.

 

Environment and Public Works (EPW)

Summary of EPW Senate Text

The Senate Committee for Environment and Public Works (EPW) covers, among other things, any elements of the reconciliation bill related to air and water pollution, environmental policy, and public buildings. This part of the reconciliation bill repeals many federal grant programs created by the IRA. Here’s what the Senate EPW Committee proposed: 

  • The bill increases pollution and consumer costs by rolling back some vehicle emissions standards for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles. This also stretches the limits of the rules of reconciliation that prohibit making non-budgetary policy changes and bypasses the legal regulatory rulemaking process. 
  • The Senate EPW bill text largely mirrors the final House text, harming flagship climate programs and making unprecedented changes to underlying federal law via budget reconciliation legislation. 
  • The majority of climate programs have been repealed, and any unobligated funds have been rescinded, including the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), Environmental Justice Block Grants, and the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG).
  • The bill would take a wrecking ball to the Climate Pollution Reductions Grant (CPRG) program. This proposal would stall or permanently halt state pollution reduction plans that were intended to create jobs, reduce energy and transportation costs, and mitigate pollution in impacted communities. 
  • The bill delays the imposition of a historic methane fee for ten years, rendering the effort to cut this climate super pollutant ineffective. 
  • In a continuation of the “pay-to-play politics” we saw in the House version, the Senate bill proposes an “opt-in” fee for project sponsors to pay that expedites their project’s environmental review under NEPA and allows the project to totally avoid judicial review.

 

In-Depth Policy Analysis for EPW Senate Text

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1. Vehicle Efficiency and Emission Standards

The Department of Transportation (DOT) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. These standards have saved drivers trillions of dollars and drastically reduced harmful pollution from vehicles—reducing smog and health impacts like asthma and heart disease. Rescinding these standards is not allowed by the rules of budget reconciliation, but Republicans are trying to repeal them anyway. 

1a. Summary of Senate Text 

This bill would repeal the EPA air pollution emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles, phasing in over model years 2027 through 2032.

1b. Changes from House Version

This is largely consistent with the House text that repealed these EPA standards, as well as greenhouse gas emissions standards starting in 2023, plus the DOT efficiency standards (which we will likely see in bill text from the Senate Commerce committee).

1c. Key Impacts

If Republicans gut vehicle standards in the final bill as they did in the House bill, we would end up with less efficient and more polluting vehicles, burning 70 billion extra gallons of gasoline through 2050 and increasing climate pollution by more than 710 million metric tons. Eliminating these standards would increase costs by $600 over the lifetime of new vehicles. Increased pollution would lead to greater health risks (asthma, heart disease, cancer) from toxic air pollution. Attempting to repeal these rules via reconciliation would seriously surpass the limits of reconciliation by trying to set regulations via this budgetary process.

 

 

2. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

The $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) is the largest grant program within the IRA. This $27 billion is divided into three programs: the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF), the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), and Solar for All. Not only does this program provide a significant investment in pollution-reducing clean energy technology and green banks, but it also benefits communities that have been historically overlooked and underserved, bringing greater equity to the clean energy transition. For months, the Trump administration has waged an unsubstantiated assault on this fund. At every turn, the administration has been unable to justify its attacks to undermine this program, failing to offer evidence to support its bogus claims of fraud, waste, or abuse.

2a. Summary of Senate Text 

Senate Republicans would repeal Section 134 of the Clean Air Act, which created the GGRF. All unobligated balances from the GGRF program would be rescinded.

2b. Changes from House Version

There is no change from the House version.

2c. Key Impacts

The GGRF is unlocking a historic wave of public and private investment, delivering local economic development opportunities that would not have materialized without this program, especially in disadvantaged communities. But the Trump administration has already been attacking the GGRF through an illegal funding freeze, and a court battle is currently raging with program awardees, in particular the NCIF and CCIA programs. The GGRF funding has technically been obligated, and only minimal GGRF funds remain unobligated and available for rescission. But the EPW bill will harm program implementation and oversight at EPA. It may also represent an attempt by Congress and the administration to block or claw back funds that have been legally obligated.

 

 

3. Climate Pollution Reduction Grants 

The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) are an EPA program established as part of a new Clean Air Act Section 137 created in the IRA, which provides grants to state, local, and Tribal governments to create and implement programs that reduce emissions and support jobs and communities. It was funded with $5 billion, including $250 million in planning grants, $4.6 billion for implementation grants, and the remaining balance for technical assistance and program implementation. These grants have been used to support state, local, and Tribal governments in nearly all 50 states.

3a. Summary of Senate Text 

Senate Republicans would repeal Section 137 of the Clean Air Act, eliminating the CPRG program. Any unobligated funds would be rescinded.

3b. Changes from House Version

The Senate version is the same as the House version.

3c. Key Impacts

The CPRG program is a primary vehicle for states to fund their pollution reduction programs. Rescinding unobligated funding for the CPRG program would dramatically harm program implementation at the agency. Many awarded states could have to stall or permanently halt their pollution reduction plans that were intended to create jobs, reduce energy and transportation costs, and mitigate pollution in impacted communities.

 

 

4. Environmental Justice Block Grants

This first-of-its-kind $3 billion federal program aims to empower disadvantaged communities to determine and design their own visions of pollution reduction and clean energy investment. The Environmental Justice (EJ) Block Grants, also known as the Community Change Grants, provide highly flexible funding that goes directly to nonprofit organizations serving these communities. This means projects are designed by and for communities to address their unique needs and build resilience to extreme weather events and environmental risks.

4a. Summary of Senate Text 

Senate Republicans want to completely repeal Section 138 of the Clean Air Act, eliminating the Environmental Justice (EJ) Block Grants program, and rescinding any unobligated funding.

4b. Changes from House Version

The Senate version closely mirrors the House version.

4c. Key Impacts

Without EJ Block Grants, there will be less financial support for on-the-ground, community-led organizations that provide life-changing services to households based in disadvantaged communities or living near sacrifice zones. Examples of critical services include community-led pollution monitoring, prevention, and remediation; projects that reduce indoor air pollution; projects to counter health risks from urban heat islands, extreme heat, and wildfires; improved community engagement in public processes; and technical assistance. Much of these funds are unobligated.

 

 

5. Methane Emissions and Waste Reduction Incentive Program

Methane is a potent, planet-heating greenhouse gas that oil and gas operators often flare or leak into the atmosphere. That’s why Congress passed the Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) through the IRA in 2022, requiring oil and gas operators to pay a penalty fee if they exceed a certain level of methane pollution. Soon after, the Biden-led EPA introduced a rule implementing the WEC. But at the beginning of 2025, the Republican-controlled Congress voted to eliminate that rule. Now, Congress is trying to get rid of the fee outright via the budget reconciliation bill. 

5a. Summary of Senate Text 

Senate Republicans want to repeal Section 136 of the Clean Air Act. Unobligated balances are rescinded. A fee on excessive methane waste is retained, but the language is now altered so the collection of charges are postponed to 2034, as opposed to 2024 under current legislation. This renders the fee largely ineffective for the next decade.

5b. Changes from House Version

The Senate version is virtually the same as the House version.

5c. Key Impacts

By cutting methane pollution and other harmful pollutants, the WEC would have helped prevent asthma attacks and other health-harming impacts. The program would have reduced an extremely harmful greenhouse gas superpollutant. Altering the WEC will disproportionately impact communities of color and disadvantaged communities. The methane fee is also a revenue raiser, so its alteration increases the budget deficit and would necessitate even deeper cuts to other vital programs to comply with the GOP’s self-imposed spending cut targets.

 

 

6. Opt-In Fee Program Impacting the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is our nation’s bedrock environmental law. It requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impact of all major proposed government projects. 

6a. Summary of Senate Text 

Senate Republicans have created a new “opt-in fee” mechanism that would allow project sponsors to receive special treatment in the environmental review process. Additionally, the fee would allow projects to avoid judicial review of findings, drastically curtailing the rights of affected communities to petition the courts.

6b. Changes from House Version

This is similar to the House version.

6c. Key Impacts

This is a continuation of the “pay-to-play” politics we saw in the GOP’s House version, but this time, the bill is attacking the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which provides for environmental reviews of all major government actions. We also expect to see similar “pay-to-play” provisions in the Senate ENR text related to liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and expedited gas permitting.

 

 

7. Other IRA Programs Affected by the Senate EPW Bill 

The Republican EPW Committee also repealed and/or rescinded any unobligated funds from the following IRA programs: 

  • Air pollution monitoring program for schools in low-income and disadvantaged communities at EPA.
  • American Innovation Manufacturing (AIM) Act aims to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—potent greenhouse pollutants used in refrigeration, air conditioning, and other applications. The EPW proposes to eliminate funding that helps implement this important bipartisan law.
  • Diesel Emissions Reduction Program at EPA for grantmaking to reduce diesel emissions from facilities and goods movement in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
  • Funding for Efficient, Accurate, and Timely Reviews at EPA to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and timeliness of environmental reviews, permitting, and project approvals.
  • Efficient and Effective Environmental Reviews, which support expediting the environmental review and permitting processes. This provision was not included in the House bill.
  • Funding for Endangered Species Act (ESA) Recovery Plans is rescinded, which is a provision not included in the House bill.
  • Enforcement Technology and Public Information at EPA.
  • Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) at EPA for construction materials and products. This initiative aimed to enhance the standardization, transparency, and reporting criteria for EPDs, which include measurements of the embodied greenhouse gas emissions associated with materials and products used in construction. 
  • Environmental Review Implementation Funds, which provide funds to the Federal Highway Administration to review transportation projects by providing guidance, assistance, and training to state, local, and Tribal governments. 
  • Environmental and Climate Data Collection, which provides funding for data collection efforts on the disproportionate harms and cumulative impacts resulting from pollution and climate change. 
  • Fenceline pollution monitoring program at EPA monitors pollution, particularly in communities near polluting facilities.
  • Greenhouse Gas Air Pollution Plans and Implementation Grants, which provide funding to states, local governments, and Tribes to develop and implement “Climate Change Action Plans” and environmental justice initiatives. 
  • Greenhouse Gas Corporate Reporting at EPA to enhance the standardization and transparency of corporate climate action commitments and plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
  • Heavy Duty Vehicle Electrification at EPA for grantmaking for heavy-duty vehicles in non-attainment areas.
  • Low Carbon Materials Grant Program at DOT for grantmaking to support the use of low-carbon materials in construction projects. 
  • Lowering Embodied Carbon Labeling for Construction Materials, including developing a program for identifying and labeling construction materials with substantially lower levels of embodied GHG emissions compared to industry averages. This initiative was designed to promote the use of low-carbon materials in construction projects, particularly in federal buildings and transportation infrastructure.
  • Low Emissions Electricity Program, which funds a wide range of activities to encourage low-emissions electricity generation and reinforced EPA’s authority to regulate carbon pollution.
  • Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program, which would improve walkability, safety, and affordability in transportation, as well as mitigate and remediate impacts from transportation facilities. 
  • Renewable Fuel Program at EPA for grantmaking for advanced biofuels.
  • Various Green and Efficient Government Building Programs, including use of low-carbon materials and emerging technologies in federal government building projects.

 

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Capitol hill seen at night

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images via Getty Image News  

 

 

 

Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR)

Summary of ENR Senate Text

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) covers policies related to energy resources and development which include regulations and conservation efforts, nuclear energy, as well as Tribal affairs, public lands and their renewable resources, and federal leasing and related activities. This component of the reconciliation bill repeals critical IRA programs that were putting the nation on track to be energy dominant, while also codifying a pay-to-play system for oil and gas companies to extort American lands. The Senate ENR Committee bill would:

  • Encourage more climate disaster and harm to frontline communities by lowering fees required to lease land for oil and natural gas drilling, and establishing a minimum number of required onshore and offshore oil and gas sales annually. 
  • Allow expediting of liquified natural gas export facilities that pay $1 million, normalizing a corrupt pay-to-play model that will ultimately result in higher electricity and natural gas prices for Americans, while continuing to harm frontline communities. 
  • Repeal and rescind remaining funds for transmission reform programs that would have made our grid more affordable, resilient, and reliable, including the following programs: Transmission Facility Financing, Grants to Facilitate the Siting of Interstate Electricity Transmission Lines, and the Interregional and Offshore Wind Electricity Transmission Planning, Modeling and Analysis program
  • Eliminate the majority of new funds and programs under the Department of Energy Loan Program Office, which will undermine American businesses and U.S. technology leadership. 
  • Repeal and rescind remaining funds for the Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment program which will be a major blow to US economic competitiveness.

 

In-Depth Policy Analysis for ENR Senate Text

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8. Natural Gas Expedited Permitting

Currently, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reviews applications for the construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines under the authority of the Natural Gas Act. It also contributes to the review and authorization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.

8a. Summary of Senate Text

This bill would lower the fees required to lease land for oil and natural gas drilling and establish a timeliness requirement for oil and gas lease sales that have undergone an environmental review and Mineral Leasing Act process. The bill also sets a floor for a minimum number of onshore and offshore oil and gas sales annually and lowers barriers to leasing. It would retroactively apply a 2016 approval for environmental review for offshore drilling in the National outer continental shelf. And it would expand approval for additional infrastructure to support drilling in communities. This bill would enable non-competitive leasing processes, further lowering the barrier to access for big oil to exploit American lands. 

8b. Changes from House Version

The House bill allows natural gas pipeline projects to pay a fee of $10 million to bypass the normal permitting process. The House bill also undermines the normal judicial review process by limiting who can bring forward lawsuits. The Senate bill does not make these same changes. The Senate bill focuses on bolstering oil and gas drilling lease sales and reducing lease fees and requirements outside of the environmental review process.

8c. Key Impacts 

Leasing is competitive so that we can ensure the best and most efficient use of taxpayer dollars and reduce opportunities for corruption. This bill opens the door to backroom dealing through expanded noncompetitive processes and reduced fees. This bill also encourages gas and oil drilling nationwide which will increase air pollution, increase greenhouse gas emissions, and hold our national economy back by supporting reliance on non-renewable energy resources. This bill expands opportunities for oil and gas companies to build in and across communities, which will exacerbate harms for communities with the least resources to push back. 

 

 

9. Rubberstamping Liquified Natural Gas Exports

Under the Natural Gas Act, the Department of Energy (DOE) has the authority to determine whether proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to non-Free Trade Agreement countries are in the “public interest” or not. This is part of a wider review process when considering proposed LNG export facilities.

9a. Summary of Senate Text

This bill would allow the Department of Energy to determine that a liquified natural gas export facility is in the public interest if the applicant pays $1 million. 

9b. Changes from House Version

The Senate version is the same as the House version.

9c. Key Impacts 

This normalizes a pay-to-play privilege for LNG export infrastructure, potentially expediting the build-out of these mega-projects. That’ll hit the pocketbooks of working Americans – because the DOE’s own studies have found that unfettered American LNG exports will result in higher electricity and natural gas prices at home, while drastically raising climate pollution. Medical professionals and frontline leaders have long documented the devastating health, economic, climate, and local environmental harms from this kind of fossil fuel infrastructure, particularly in the Gulf South. 

 

 

10. Derailing Transmission Reforms

There are several IRA programs at DOE that support the expansion of electricity transmission infrastructure in the U.S. and are critical to providing affordable and reliable power for Americans. These include the Transmission Facility Financing program; Offshore Wind Electricity Transmission Planning, Modeling, and Analysis program; and Grants to Facilitate the Siting of Interstate Electricity Transmission Lines. These programs are especially important at a time of rising electricity demand, fueled by data centers to power artificial intelligence (AI), increasing electrification of vehicles and buildings, and an American manufacturing renaissance.

10a. Summary of Senate Text

The bill rescinds any unobligated amounts for Transmission Facility Financing; Interregional and Offshore Wind Electricity Transmission Planning, Modelling, and Analysis; and Grants to Facilitate the Siting of Interstate Electricity Transmission Lines. Together, these programs held nearly $2.5 billion in unobligated funding at the beginning of 2025.

10b. Changes from House Version

The Senate version is the same as the House version.

10c. Key Impacts 

By eliminating programs that make our energy grid a secure and reliable source of affordable power, Republicans are pushing the nation farther away from energy dominance. 

 

 

11. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office

The Department of Energy Loan Programs Office (LPO) was created with strong bipartisan support during the George W. Bush administration, and for the last two decades, it has provided critical financing for American energy, manufacturing, mining, and other industrial projects that reduce emissions and support American leadership in the fast-growing clean energy economy. To date, the LPO has financed approximately $90 billion in innovative energy and manufacturing projects, including a $465 million loan to Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors in 2010. At the conclusion of 2024, the LPO had collected over $5 billion in interest payments from its loans, meaning that it has made a profit for American taxpayers.

11a. Summary of Senate Text

This bill would completely repeal the LPO’s new authority and funding from the IRA, with any unobligated funding rescinded. The LPO would return to the smaller version that pre-existed the IRA, along with a smaller $660 million pot of funds under Sec. 1706 for “energy dominance financing” (instead of the IRA’s $4.5 billion for “energy infrastructure reinvestment financing” under the same section).

11b. Changes from House Version

The house bill rescinds unobligated funding, while this version rescinds all IRA funds, except for a renamed “energy dominance financing” program.

11c. Key Impacts 

Eliminating LPO’s new loan authority would be a devastating blow for the U.S., especially amidst rising energy demand and a competitive global race to build and manufacture the energy technologies that will power the 21st century. It would harm American businesses and U.S. technology leadership. Not only that, over the long-term, shrinking LPO will cost American taxpayers money, as the successful program has already returned $5 billion in profit to the American taxpayer, via interest on its loans.

 

 

12. Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment Program 

The Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment Program (AIFDP) was created in the IRA and funded with over $5.8 billion to advance industrial decarbonization and support American manufacturing’s global economic competitiveness. The program has provided funds for innovative low-carbon cement manufacturing projects in Indiana, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia, for next-generation aluminum manufacturing in Colorado, for low-carbon steel production in multiple states, and much more.

12a. Summary of Senate Text

This bill would fully repeal the Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment program and rescind any unobligated funding to prevent further investments in industrial innovation. 

12b. Changes from House Version

This is similar to the House version. 

12c. Key Impacts 

Rescinding unobligated balances and eliminating the AIFDP program would deal a major blow to U.S. global economic competitiveness as American businesses fight for market share in increasingly decarbonized steel, cement, aluminum, and other heavy industries.

 

 

13. Other IRA Programs Affected by the Senate ENR Bill 

The Senate ENR bill also would repeal the following IRA programs and rescind any unobligated funds:

  • State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training Grants - Grants which provided financial assistance to states for the development and implementation of the state-based programs that allowed for energy efficiency and electrification improvements, reducing costs for homeowners. These grants supported employee training for contractor jobs in many states. 
  • Royalties on Extracted Methane - This program imposed royalties on all methane extraction from onshore and offshore leases. 

 

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Conclusion

In a nutshell: Senate Republicans are taking money out of working people’s pockets to give tax breaks to billionaires. 

Throughout the entire reconciliation process, the GOP has been taking a wrecking ball to dozens of programs that make energy affordable for households, reduce toxic pollution, combat the climate crisis, provide life-changing healthcare, and nourish families with food assistance. 

Though this analysis has focused on Evergreen’s priority IRA climate programs found in the Senate EPW and ENR bills, we anticipate that other life-changing federal programs will be gutted. Evergreen will continue to track developments in the coming weeks, including the release of the Senate Finance Committee bill text. The full bill is expected to go to the Senate floor in the coming weeks and, if passed, could be signed into law by the president soon after.

 

 

Contact Your Senators Now About Opposing the Bill

The Senate’s latest committee proposal comes on the heels of House Republicans’ extreme tax bill package. They are hoping we won't notice while they fast-track it. Let them know we’re watching—and that we won't stand for the roadblocks they're putting up against clean energy, which we know is cheaper and faster than fossil fuels.