By Dan Sawmiller and Aaron Brown
Ohioans know the value of hard work, steady jobs, and reliable energy. But right now, the House’s 2025 Reconciliation Bill is raising real concerns about what’s at stake—and how decisions are being made. We’ve been burned before. And now, the House of Representatives’ 2025 Reconciliation Bill is raising red flags all over again.
There’s been no shortage of data flying around: budget projections, job impact stats, Medicaid coverage numbers, and flashy economic charts. But one number that’s just as critical isn’t getting enough attention—the rising demand for reliable, domestic energy.
This bill doesn’t just juggle statistics—it threatens to pull the plug on the very systems that power our lives. We’re talking about the infrastructure that keeps homes warm, factories running, and paychecks flowing. In a state like Ohio, where manufacturing is the backbone of our economy, you can’t just flip the switch without consequences.
Let’s be clear: shutting down energy infrastructure isn’t policy progress. It’s a blackout in the making.
Even Senator Jon Husted, who has expressed general support for the bill, is sounding the alarm on what it could mean for Ohio. “You have companies that have already made investments, made commitments,” he said. “I hope as the bill comes over to the Senate that we can work on that, and on the manufacturing side, help ensure that those investments continue to get made.”
Husted’s comments echo a deeper truth: this bill puts Ohio jobs, companies, and energy stability at risk. We can’t afford another policy misstep that leaves working families paying the price.
According to Alex Adams at NRDC:
“The package calls for gutting federal incentives that have helped drive more than $630 billion in clean energy investment by businesses and consumers over just the past three years.
That’s investment in American factories building solar panels, electric vehicles, advanced batteries—and in homes installing heat pumps and energy-saving appliances. Repealing these incentives won’t just stall progress—it will kill jobs, stifle domestic energy production, and raise household electricity prices by 7% in just one year. By 2030, the average American family could face $26 billion in added utility and fuel costs—nearly doubling by 2035.
And this isn’t just about numbers. Every lawmaker supporting this bill is voting for higher energy bills, fewer jobs, and bigger tax burdens on everyday Americans—drivers, homeowners, manufacturers.”
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) didn’t mince words either:
“This legislation takes a sledgehammer to the progress the country has made in clean-energy technology and manufacturing… Repealing these credits is a job-killer, pure and simple.
Clean energy tax credits are putting IBEW members to work in every state—and there are still hundreds of billions of dollars in projects ahead. Stripping these investments now hands the advantage to foreign competitors, particularly China, and tells American workers their jobs don’t matter.”
And while Senator Husted and others raise concerns about the risks to Ohio’s economy and energy infrastructure, there’s another side of this story that’s getting buried under the noise: the lives of working Ohioans.
Meanwhile, billionaires like Elon Musk are eyeing the tax cuts they’ll receive if this legislation passes. But we’re not here to talk about billionaires. We’re here to talk about Ohioans. People like Greg.
Greg is an organizer at Local 540. As an electrician, he spent 12 years on the road chasing work—until Congress passed the 2022 clean energy investment package. That opened up dozens of local projects across Ohio, giving him the chance to come home, put down roots, and spend more time with his kids.
Greg’s story is not unique. There are thousands like him in Ohio—and across the country. These clean energy incentives don’t just support workers—they support entire communities. They modernize the power grid, boost energy independence, create good-paying jobs, and stabilize rural communities.
This bill would gut all of that. It prioritizes the profits of foreign petrostates and billionaire tax breaks over domestic labor, energy security, and community well-being. That’s the real math—and it adds up to loss. Not just in dollars, but in dignity, opportunity, and stability.
Take action and tell your senators that we must keep the lights on—for Greg, for Ohio, and for the thousands of communities counting on a better, more secure energy future.
Dan Sawmiller is a senior advisor to the NRDC Action Fund and NRDC’s Director of Labor Policy for Climate & Energy. He works with a wide range of energy industry stakeholders to advocate for clean energy and climate policies in states like Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
Aaron Brown is the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 4th district Renewable Energy/ Government Affairs Representative. The 4th district represents IBEW members in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, & The District of Columbia. The IBEW today stands at 836,000 active members and retirees and in Ohio has over 17,000 Electricians and Apprentices.
