Gabe Evans: My Plan “Jeopardizes” My Own District

Gabe Evans has had a hard time explaining his vote to gut health care for thousands of his own constituents, hike home energy costs, and eliminate good-paying jobs in his district.

Somehow, the vulnerable freshman Republican just made it worse. In a letter to Senate Republican leaders, Evans begged his colleagues to “mitigate” the harm his plan would cause Colorado’s clean energy economy:

“This approach jeopardizes ongoing development, discourages long-term investment, and could significantly delay or cancel energy infrastructure projects across the country… Without a clear signal from Congress… project cancellations will continue to snowball.”
  – Gabe Evans (yes, really)

DCCC Spokesperson Lindsay Reilly:
“Gabe Evans’ letter isn’t worth the paper that it’s printed on. Instead of actually fighting for his constituents, Evans caved to Republican leaders and cast the deciding vote to claw back critical investments from Colorado. What a complete and utter fraud.”

In case you missed it… 

NEXT ON 9NEWS: 

• Publicly, Republican Congressman Gabe Evans has been a faithful cheerleader for the Trump-backed budget plan to cut Medicaid and to phase out Biden-era clean energy tax credits.
• But today, Evans… sent a letter to Senate leaders urging them to ‘mitigate the impact of the bill,’ as in, mitigate the cutbacks that he himself voted for… We asked Evans’ office… why he voted for this bill if he’s so concerned about it. We’ve not yet heard back.

Denver Post: Republican budget bill would strike blow to clean energy efforts in Colorado

• Executives who lead Colorado energy companies, both big and small, said eliminating tax credits will decimate the progress made in recent years in the United States as the country seeks as many sources of energy as possible to supply growing demand. 
• It could also lead to higher electricity bills for consumers and eliminate jobs, sending more jobs to China and other Asian markets where production is cheaper and more advanced.
• In the almost three years since the act was passed, 3,800 new jobs have been announced in Colorado, along with nearly $362 million in investments from federal grants and loans. Seventy-four new clean energy and transportation facilities have begun development, and 43 have begun manufacturing American-made products.
• The bill would drive up the cost of electricity in Colorado, force people to pay more for cars and trucks, and reduce the amount of money people can receive through tax credits to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
• “I can tell you, if it passes the way it is today, I will cancel the project,” Dales said.

Greeley Tribune: Jim Marshall: Don’t cut clean energy tax credits

• Lawmakers must confront reality: cutting these programs would inflict severe economic pain on American families already struggling with high costs. Eliminating these credits would drive up electricity bills, eliminate good-paying jobs, and make energy-efficient home improvements unaffordable.
• Colorado’s 8th District has seen significant private sector investment, totaling around $1.1 billion in clean energy and advanced technology manufacturing, and has led to the creation of approximately 2,000 jobs in the district.

TIME: House Republicans’ ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Might Kill Jobs in Many of Their Districts

• Many voters are likely to notice the fallout from those changes, particularly in swing districts that will decide control of the House next year.
• The rollbacks threaten 830,000 jobs connected to clean-energy projects.
• [The bill] would wind down tax credits for cleaner cars like electric vehicles by the end of this year, scrap incentives for battery makers by 2028, and levy a new annual fee on drivers who opt into lower-emission vehicles (purportedly to replace lost gasoline taxes). 
• At the same time, clean-energy manufacturers would see their tax credits go dark by 2031, and lower-emissions energy projects like wind, nuclear, and solar would lose their incentives in 2032. Across the country, job-creating projects currently in development would no longer make economic sense.

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