Sanders: I Don't Regret that Green Provisions in Inflation Reduction Act May Overrun Cost Estimate
On Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” Sen.
Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said that he doesn’t regret that the green provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act may end up exceeding their projected cost and “we still have a long way to go” on climate. Host Chris Hayes asked, “The Inflation Reduction Act, there’s something — there’s an interesting drama playing out with a colleague of yours, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) — now I know you’re a big supporter of the Inflation Reduction Act, particularly those clean energy credits, it’s the largest climate bill we’ve ever passed, even if insufficient — but one of the things people didn’t quite appreciate, and possibly your colleague Joe Manchin did not, is that the tax credits in the bill have no cap to them. Which is to say, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the total cost of them, but if they’re more successful, and more people use them, then the money spends, which means there could be a lot more investment in clean energy than the Congressional Budget Office projected. Personally, I think that’s a good thing. Joe Manchin appears to be incredibly upset about this, and I wonder if you have a view whether it’s good or bad that more clean energy might get built.” Sanders responded, “I do not regret the fact that we may be more successful in this country in transforming our energy system than we have previously believed. But we still have a long way to go. We’ve got to lead this world. This ain’t an easy issue, but there is no issue more important. And what really bothers me is you still have people out there who are terribly worried about the fossil fuel industry, stop worrying about the fossil fuel industry, worry about your kids and your grandchildren, and the kind of planet that they’re going to be living in.” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett.
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