Government funding is set to run out tomorrow at midnight when the calendar flips to October 1.

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Hi John,

Government funding is set to run out tomorrow at midnight when the calendar flips to October 1. Unless the far Right of the House Republican caucus comes to the table and agrees on legislation to extend funding–an increasingly unlikely scenario–we’re facing a government shutdown.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy remains unable to honor commitments he made during the June debt ceiling talks. Instead, he has given into the extreme fringe of his own politics, pushing for an extreme funding proposal laced with drastic spending cuts and border security priorities.

This shutdown is not being caused by a traditional partisan divide. In the Senate, Republicans joined Democrats in supporting a bipartisan compromise this week that would fund the government through November.

In this week’s On the Grid, we’ll delve deeper into what a shutdown means for the climate and energy space and tackle persistent mischaracterizations of US energy policy.

With the extreme wing of House Republicans refusing to take a deal, Washington is teetering dangerously close to a government shutdown. While we don’t know how long this will last, we do know that a prolonged shutdown will be disastrous for several crucial clean energy programs. You can read about five ways an extended shutdown could prove disastrous

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on our site, but here are a few highlights:

Postpone clean energy projects in rural communities: Without a budget in place, the Department of Agriculture will be unable to deploy funding through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) or the “Section 9003” program, postponing job-creating manufacturing projects, halting clean energy deployment, and hurting rural small business owners.

Leave consumers and businesses in the dark on new tax credits: With the IRS partially closed during a shutdown, businesses and homeowners will face prolonged uncertainty on various tax credits related to energy efficiency home improvements, electric vehicles, and the production of clean fuels, critical minerals, batteries, and other clean technology components.

Hold up funding for critical energy innovation projects: A lengthy break in funding would delay the review, selection, and release of nearly $18.5 billion in federal funding for clean energy projects across the country through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The consequences of an extended government shutdown are severe. For more from Third Way, scroll for links to our expanded analysis of what a government shutdown means for working families.

In his first two years in office, President Biden has implemented a fundamentally centrist clean energy agenda, leveraging over $500 billion in investments and incentives in clean energy to reduce energy costs, revitalize critical sectors of the economy, and increase energy security. This is a market-based, private-sector-led approach. That’s why it's so striking to see Republicans, and even some centrist commentators, characterize the Administration’s climate policy as a validation of the far-left. Last week, Ruy Teixeira in The Liberal Patriot accused the Biden Administration of advocating for a renewables-only environmentalist agenda akin to the Green New Deal. You can read our full response here

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, but let’s walk through a few reasons why the suggestion that the Biden Administration is part of the radical left doesn't pass muster.



Only 11% of US clean energy incentives and investments are directed toward renewables. In fact, the overwhelming majority of policies are technology-inclusive and focused on increasing clean manufacturing, innovation, and partnering with industry, not an aggressive far-left, renewables-only agenda.

Far from forcing a costly EV transition on Americans for the sake of the environment, Democrats are giving US automakers and workers the tools to ensure the vehicles of the future are made in America by American businesses, not shipped over from China.

While the transition gets rolling, the Administration has increased US oil and gas production to bolster our energy independence and protect Americans from global price shocks. This is a far cry from claims by some that President Biden is trying to ban fossil fuels.

We’re disappointed to see false equivalences like these emerge and distort the United States’ current clean energy policies. But this is not isolated. During Wednesday night’s Republican Presidential Primary Debate, Vice President Mike Pence pulled out the same talking points, making it clear that this narrative is nowhere close to fading, but we’re committed to continuing to shine a spotlight on reality.

We put together a quick summary

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of the impacts this will have on clean energy and working families and businesses across the country, as well as a longer memo.

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Beyond clean energy, a government shutdown will send shockwaves across every sector of our economy. Third Way’s Economics Team put together a one-pager

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outlining how far the consequences will ripple and their damaging effects.

Robinson Meyer

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in Heat Map unpacks new analysis from Dr. Leah Stokes that finds rising opposition to wind energy projects in North America and how relatively easy it is to deter wind farms.

Steven Lacey

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on the Carbon Copy podcast series is joined by climate journalists Jeff St. John, Julian Spector, and Lisa Martine Jenkins to discuss emerging clean energy technologies and where the industry is moving.

David Helvarg

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in the Los Angeles Times draws comparisons between Biden’s newly announced American Climate Corps (ACC) and the successes of California’s widely successful Conservation Corps. Want to learn more about how the ACC? Read our newest blog

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on how the corps will mobilize young people to deploy clean energy technologies nationwide.

Josh Freed

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, Senior Vice President for Third Way’s Climate and Energy Program, defends the Biden Administration's track record on climate from mischaracterizations that the President is following an extreme, far-left clean energy agenda.

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Let’s keep the conversation going,

Mary Sagatelova

Senior Advocacy Advisor | Third Way

216.394.7615 :: @MarySagatelova

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