Republicans will soon control the House. Is a repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act likely?

Republicans will soon control the House. Is a repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) likely? Prepare for greater oversight, experts say, but market factors and slow implementation could be bigger threats to the law than political action in a divided Congress.

The change of power in the House could spur a new wave of political attacks against the landmark law, legal and political experts say, but it’s not clear whether they’ll result in policy change.

U.S. House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is poised to be elected speaker when Republicans take control of the House of Representatives in 2023, a change that calls into question the future of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Advocates of renewable energy began the 2022 election season with an unprecedented wave of optimism. The Inflation Reduction Act promised, at long last, to end the boom-and-bust cycle of fluctuating demand for renewable energy based on tax credit expiration dates and to bring long-term stability to wind and solar development.

After passing without a single Republican vote, the Inflation Reduction Act has become, according to campaign rhetoric, the latest threat to the American way of life.

The renewable energy industry is accustomed to this political roller coaster. For some who felt the IRA might be too good to be true, the potential for a drawn-out political battle seemed likely. Legal and political experts — including some whose experience includes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) itself — say a complete repeal of the IRA seems unlikely. But that won’t prevent it from remaining the subject of political rhetoric for years to come, they say, even as renewable energy advocates renew calls for policy stability.

Strazzella believes Republicans will spend the next two years scrutinizing and attacking the IRA. However, he thinks it’s unlikely they’ll overturn the law entirely. Like the ACA, certain provisions of the IRA are popular with the Republican base, and they’re likely to become even more popular among residents of conservative communities where manufacturing expansions and job growth are set to take place. This will make eliminating the IRA politically tricky.

The November 18, 2022 article is by Emma Penrod at Utility Dive and image courtesy of Alex Wong via Getty Images