Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act Will Be a Driving Force in Dealing with Global Climate Change
George Shivers • October 25, 2022
On his inauguration day, President Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement and indicated his intent to make the United States a world leader in dealing with climate change. Given the fact that historically the U.S. has been responsible for more than 22% of greenhouse gas emissions, it was past time to take firm action.
With the passage by Congress of the Inflation Reduction Act, which the President signed into law on August 16 of this year, our country has truly taken meaningful action to slow down or halt climate change. The provisions of the bill will result in the investment of $369 billion in climate solutions and environmental justice, and put our country on a path to a 40% emissions reduction by 2030. According to the president, the act could cut the social cost of climate change by up to $1.9 billion by 2050. Let’s take a closer look at what the provisions of the bill will do:
Accelerate a clean energy transition that will lower energy costs for Americans by:
- Expanding access to clean energy by extending clean energy tax credits by ten years
- Creating jobs and investing in our energy security, investing $60 billion in manufacturing solar panels, batteries, and other clean energy technologies in the U.S.
- Providing funding to low-income families to electrify their homes, including $9 billion in a home energy rebate program
- Removing barriers to community solar, making solar power more accessible and affordable for the average person
Provide funding to help the transportation sector transition away from fossil fuels by providing:
- $3 billion to the U.S. Postal Service to electrify its fleet
- $1 billion for clean school and transit buses, garbage trucks, and other heavy-duty vehicles, giving priority to communities dealing with excessive air pollution
- $3 billion to clean up air pollution at ports by installing zero emissions equipment, again with priority given to those portside communities that are breathing disproportionately high levels of toxic air pollution
- Tax credits for electric vehicles
Because communities of color face harm from pollution at a disproportionate level, the provisions of the bill are directed at helping these communities by:
- Reinstating the Superfund Tax so that industry, not the public, pays the bill for cleaning up the pollution it causes
- Providing $3 billion for community-led projects
- Providing $315.5 million for air monitoring so that communities are aware of what’s in the air they breathe
Deal with the impact of industrial agriculture on the climate by providing:
- Over $20 billion to help farmers and ranchers shift to sustainable practices with care taken to ensure that funds are not used to support false solutions, such as corn-based ethanol
- $300 million for research into the impact of agricultural practices on climate
Other provisions are directed at supporting those factors in nature itself that help to combat climate change by providing:
- $50 million to protect mature and old-growth forests
- $2.6 billion in coastal resilience grants
- $250 million to implement endangered species recovery plans and to address the impact of climate change on habitats
- $1 billion to ensure that federal agencies can carry out strong environmental reviews
The act will help individual citizens by providing:
- A 30% tax break for installing residential solar panels
- Up to $7,500 to purchase an electric vehicle
- Up to $14,000 for home energy efficiency upgrades, including up to $8,000 to install a heat pump
Further information:
“Summary of the Energy Security and Climate Change Investments in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” U.S. Senate Democrats.
“The U.S. Finally Has a Law to Tackle Climate Change,” Rebecca Leber, Aug. 16, 2022, Vox.
A native of Wicomico County, George Shivers holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland and taught in the Foreign Language Dept. of Washington College for 38 years before retiring in 2007. He is also very interested in the history and culture of the Eastern Shore, African American history in particular.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.
Apparently, some people think that the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is a foregone conclusion, and that the struggle over the budget and Trump’s agenda is over and done. Not true. On Sunday night, the bill — given the alternate name “Big Bad Bullsh*t Bill” by the Democratic Women’s Caucus — was voted out of the House Budget Committee. The GOP plan is to pass this legislation in the House before Memorial Day. But that’s not the end of it. As Jessica Craven explained in her Chop Wood Carry Water column: “Remember, we have at least six weeks left in this process. The bill has to: Pass the House, Then head to the Senate where it will likely be rewritten almost completely, Then be passed there, Then be brought back to the House for reconciliation, And then, if the House changes that version at all, Go back to the Senate for another vote.” She adds, “Every step of that process is a place for us to kill it.” The bill is over a thousand pages long, and the American people will not get a chance to read it until it has passed the House. But, thanks to 5Calls , we know it includes:
Let's talk about our Eastern Shore Delegation, the representatives who are supposed to fight for our nine Shore counties in Annapolis, and what they actually got up to this session.
For the first time in recent memory, Virginia Democrats have candidates running in all 100 House of Delegates districts — a milestone party leaders and grassroots organizers say reflects rising momentum as President Donald Trump’s second term continues to galvanize opposition.
The 447th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on April 8. This End of Session Report highlights the work Shore Progress has done to fight for working families and bring real results home to the Shore. Over the 90-day session, lawmakers debated 1,901 bills and passed 878 into law. Shore Progress and members supported legislation that delivers for the Eastern Shore, protecting our environment, expanding access to housing and healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights, and more. Shore Progress Supported Legislation By The Numbers: Over 60 pieces of our backed legislation were passed. Another 15 passed in one Chamber but not the other. Legislation details are below, past the budget section. The 2026 Maryland State Budget How We Got Here: Maryland’s budget problems didn’t start overnight. They began under Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan expanded the state budget yearly but blocked the legislature from moving money around or making common-sense changes. Instead of fixing the structural issues, Hogan used federal covid relief funds to hide the cracks and drained our state’s savings from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion to boost his image before leaving office. How Trump/Musk Made It Worse: Maryland is facing a new fiscal crisis driven by the Trump–Musk administration, whose trade wars, tariff policies, and deep federal cuts have hit us harder than most, costing the state over 30,000 jobs, shuttering offices, and erasing promised investments. A University of Maryland study estimates Trump’s tariffs alone could cost us $2 billion, and those federal cuts have already added $300 million to our budget deficit. Covid aid gave us a short-term boost and even created a fake surplus under Hogan, but that money is gone, while housing, healthcare, and college prices keep rising. The Trump–Musk White House is only making things worse by slashing funding, gutting services, and eliminating research that Marylanders rely on. How The State Budget Fixes These Issues: This year, Maryland faced a $3 billion budget gap, and the General Assembly fixed it with a smart mix of cuts and fair new revenue, while protecting working families, schools, and health care. The 2025 Budget cuts $1.9 billion ($400 million less than last year) without gutting services people rely on. The General Assembly raised $1.2 billion in fair new revenue, mostly from the wealthiest Marylanders. The Budget ended with a $350 million surplus, plus $2.4 billion saved in the Rainy Day Fund (more than 9% of general fund revenue), which came in $7 million above what the Spending Affordability Committee called for. The budget protects funding for our schools, health care, transit, and public workers. The budget delivers real wins: $800 million more annually for transit and infrastructure, plus $500 million for long-term transportation needs. It invests $9.7 billion in public schools and boosts local education aid by $572.5 million, a 7% increase. If current revenue trends hold, no new taxes will be needed next session. Even better, 94% of Marylanders will see a tax cut or no change, while only the wealthiest 5% will finally pay their fair share. The tax system is smarter now. We’re: Taxing IT and data services like Texas and D.C. do; Raising taxes on cannabis and sports betting, not groceries or medicine; and Letting counties adjust income taxes. The budget also restores critical funding: $122 million for teacher planning $15 million for cancer research $11 million for crime victims $7 million for local business zones, and Continued support for public TV, the arts, and BCCC The budget invests in People with disabilities, with $181 million in services Growing private-sector jobs with $139 million in funding, including $27.5 million for quantum tech, $16 million for the Sunny Day Fund, and $10 million for infrastructure loans. Health care is protected for 1.5 million Marylanders, with $15.6 billion for Medicaid and higher provider pay. Public safety is getting a boost too, with $60 million for victim services, $5.5 million for juvenile services, and $5 million for parole and probation staffing. This budget also tackles climate change with $100 million for clean energy and solar projects, and $200 million in potential ratepayer relief. Public workers get a well-deserved raise, with $200 million in salary increases, including a 1% COLA and ~2.5% raises for union workers. The ultra-wealthy will finally chip in to pay for it: People earning over $750,000 will pay more, Millionaires will pay 6.5%, and Capital gains over $350,000 get a 2% surcharge. Deductions are capped for high earners, but working families can still deduct student loans, medical debt, and donations. This budget is bold, fair, and built to last. That’s why Shore Progress proudly supports it. Click on the arrows below for details in each section.
