Senate Budget Bill Delivers a Blow to Clean Energy, but Public Lands Sell-Off Averted

WASHINGTON (July 1, 2025) – The U.S. Senate in the present day handed its federal finances invoice, laws that might have a long-lasting affect on our nation’s means to halt the decline of migratory birds throughout the hemisphere. If enacted, the invoice would end in a big setback in U.S. manufacturing and deployment of utility-scale wind and photo voltaic by eradicating current tax incentives. That is anticipated to result in rising power costs for American households and companies by an estimated 9% within the subsequent 12 months alone.  The ultimate invoice averted inclusion of language that might have set new precedent for promoting off public lands, however mandates oil and gasoline lease gross sales in essential hen habitat of Alaska’s western Arctic.

“These actions will undermine utility-scale wind and photo voltaic power, unduly burdening considered one of our most cost-effective power era sources, which has spurred 400,000 new jobs and $441 billion in investments during the last two years,” mentioned Felice Stadler, vice chairman of presidency affairs on the Nationwide Audubon Society. “We’re at present seeing record-high investments in wind and photo voltaic, which this laws threatens to upend, resulting in American households and companies paying extra in power payments and placing well-paying clear power and manufacturing jobs in danger. Whereas we admire the efforts of a number of lawmakers to melt the blow of this laws on the clear power sector, regrettably they fell quick.”

“We’re happy to see the language requiring gross sales of public lands faraway from the ultimate invoice and thank the Senators who publicly advocated for safeguarding our nation’s public lands, however we’re disillusioned that mandating oil and gasoline lease gross sales in Alaska’s fragile ecosystems stay,” Stadler added. “Our nation’s birds and the pure assets upon which all of us rely requires investing in conserving our lands and concurrently investing in clear power to deal with the 2 important drivers of migratory hen decline throughout the hemisphere: local weather change and biodiversity loss.”  

Within the weeks main as much as the Senate’s passage of the invoice, Audubon engaged with hundreds of its members, supporters, state and native chapters, and different companions to advocate for public lands and clear power.

About Audubon 
The Nationwide Audubon Society is a number one nonprofit conservation group with 120 years of science-based, community-driven affect, devoted to defending birds and the locations they want, in the present day and tomorrow. Birds are highly effective indicators of our planet’s well being, performing as sentinels that warn us of environmental change and encourage motion. Audubon works throughout the Western Hemisphere, pushed by the understanding that what is sweet for birds is sweet for the planet. By means of a collaborative, bipartisan method throughout habitats, borders, and the political spectrum, Audubon drives significant and lasting conservation outcomes. With 800 workers and over 1.9 million supporters, Audubon is a dynamic and ever-growing drive dedicated to making sure a greater planet for each birds and other people for generations to return. Be taught extra at www.audubon.org and on Fb, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety. 

Media Contact: Jeff Billington, jeff.billington@audubon.org