Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
- Conservative organizations have released a proposed "battle plan" for the next Republican president.
- The plan calls for the president to end the Inflation Reduction Act, which has primarily benefited red states.
- The 2022 bill funnels hundreds of billions to states home to major clean energy projects, like Oklahoma and Texas.
Leading conservative organizations are banding together to push a new project called Project 2025, a game plan for the next Republican president, and it includes cutting a Biden-era law that funnels hundreds of billions of dollars to red states.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed in 2022 and which in part sets aside $370 billion for investment in clean energy, was hailed at the time as the most significant step Congress had taken to address the climate crisis.
With states like Oklahoma leading the country in wind power and Texas landing in the top three states for clean energy job growth, red states are the biggest beneficiaries of the bill. Yet the bill faced significant opposition from congressional Republicans during the legislative process.
Project 2025 and the elimination of the Inflation Reduction Act have been championed by several conservative organizations, all led by the Heritage Foundation, a major conservative think tank. Paul Dans, a director with the Heritage Foundation, called Project 2025 a "battle plan" for the next Republican president, The New York Times reported.
The Heritage Foundation has delivered the 920-page document to every Republican running for president, Dans told The Times.
However, some conservatives who work closely with state lawmakers on energy policy said any plan to cut the Inflation Reduction Act would likely go against constituents' wishes.
"Obviously as conservatives, we're concerned about fiscal responsibility, but if you look at what Republican voters think, a lot of Republicans in red states show strong support for provisions of the I.R.A.," Sarah Hunt, president of the Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy, an organization that works with Republican lawmakers on state energy needs, told The Times.
When asked for comment regarding concerns about ending the Inflation Reduction Act, Ellen Wittman, a spokesperson for the Heritage Foundation, directed Insider to Chapter 13 of the Project 2025 document.
"A conservative U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will take a more supportive role toward local and state efforts, building them up so that they may lead in a meaningful fashion," the document reads. "This will include the sharing of federal resources and agency expertise."
This story was updated to include comment from the Heritage Foundation received after publication.