I hope my neighbors in the Santa Clarita Valley will agree that the House and Senate must pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which allocates $369 billion toward climate and clean energy programs. Climate modeling shows that this bill would put the U.S. on track to meet its emissions targets under the Paris Agreement, when coupled with state, local and executive action.
I support the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which has many positive provisions, including:
• Tax credits and grants for clean fuels and clean commercial vehicles.
• Grants and tax credits to reduce emissions from industrial manufacturing processes, targeted at the largest industrial emitters like chemical, steel and cement plants.
• Federal procurement of clean technologies to create a stable market for clean products, including zero-carbon U.S. Postal Service vehicles.
• Consumer home energy rebate programs, focused on low-income consumers, to electrify home appliances and for energy-efficient retrofits — making heat pumps, rooftop solar, electric HVAC and water heaters more affordable.
• Consumer tax credit for lower- and middle-income individuals to buy used and new electric vehicles.
• Grant program to make affordable housing more energy-efficient.
• Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants to invest in community-led projects in disadvantaged communities to address disproportionate harm from climate change.
• Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants to support neighborhood equity, safety and affordable transportation access.
• Grant for clean heavy-duty vehicles, like school and transit buses and garbage trucks.
• Production tax credits to accelerate U.S. manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and critical minerals processing.
• Investment tax credit to build clean technology manufacturing facilities, like facilities that make electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels.
• Grants to retool existing auto manufacturing facilities to manufacture clean vehicles, ensuring that auto manufacturing jobs stay in the communities that depend on them.
• Support for climate-smart agriculture practices.
• Grants to support fire-resilient, healthy forests.
• Tax credits and grants to support the domestic production of sustainable aviation fuel and other biofuels.
• Grants to conserve and restore coastal habitats and protect communities that depend on those habitats.
I urge all concerned Santa Claritans to contact their representatives in the House and Senate to urge passage of this crucial legislation.
Kathryn Oliver
Saugus
