Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Energy Office Executive Director Will Toor sent a letter to Colorado’s congressional delegation and leaders of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, expressing worries about the proposed budget reconciliation bill’s potential effects on the state’s “clean energy” funding. 

The Republican-backed budget, which has already cleared the House, proposes significant rollbacks to clean energy tax credits established under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Some Republicans have argued that the tax credits are too costly to the federal government. Trump and others remain skeptical of clean energy initiatives, which the president has called the “Green New Scam.”

“The Senate must scrap the House budget and start from scratch to remove these and other disastrous cuts that will increase costs, make America less competitive, and increase pollution,” Polis said. 

According to Polis and Toor, if the budget passes as proposed, energy costs could increase by 10% in Colorado by 2030. 

“Proposed federal cuts will hurt Colorado landowners and farmers, hinder advanced clean manufacturing, destroy good-paying jobs, and weaken our economy,” they said. 

The rollbacks would be especially harmful to rural Coloradans, they said, as it would strip away tools that farmers, ranchers, and landowners use to lower costs, increase yields, and build resilience against drought and severe weather.  

Cuts to tax credits for manufacturers of semiconductors, batteries, and solar components would negatively affect the nation’s military readiness, including Colorado defense installations like Fort Carson, Buckley Space Force Base, and the Air Force Academy, Polis and Toor also said.

Both the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act focused on incentivizing U.S.-based environmental technology manufacturers through financial investments and tax credits, they said.

“Congress backtracking on these commitments now, after billions have been invested and supply chains established, would send a deeply destabilizing signal to free markets, developers, and manufacturers that have chosen Colorado because of our strong policy alignment and predictable federal support,” they said.