For Immediate Release:
May 28, 2025
Contact: Anayana White
anayana@asbnetwork.org
American Sustainable Business Network Voices Disappointment Over Reckless Cuts to Clean Energy, Worker Protections, and Climate Investments in House Budget
The American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN) is profoundly disappointed by the House of Representatives’ recent passage of H.R. 1—labeled the “One Big Beautiful Bill”. This legislation represents a sweeping and deeply misguided rollback of policies that have been foundational to the clean energy transition, worker protections, and broader efforts to build a just and regenerative economy.
In addition to devastating cuts to essential social programs like Medicaid and food assistance, H.R. 1 includes drastic and damaging changes to clean energy tax credits. It threatens to dismantle much of the progress made under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which catalyzed over $500 billion in new private investment, supported the creation of approximately 400,000 clean energy jobs, and laid the groundwork for revitalizing American manufacturing in key sectors such as electric vehicles, batteries, and solar panel production.
“The proposed changes to investment and production tax credits—making them largely unworkable—risk halting America’s clean energy momentum just as it begins to deliver real economic and environmental benefits,” said Michael Green, ASBN Senior Advisor on Climate & Energy Policy. “This bill isn’t about fiscal responsibility—it’s a blueprint for undoing decades of bipartisan progress on clean energy innovation.”
Provisions that fast-track fossil fuel infrastructure, expand drilling on public lands, and eliminate key environmental and climate safeguards are equally concerning. These measures not only undermine efforts to reduce emissions and build climate resilience, but they also sideline the market-driven growth of renewables in favor of outdated, carbon-intensive industries. For responsible businesses investing in the future, this is not just a setback—it’s a signal that Washington is prioritizing short-term political wins over long-term sustainability and competitiveness.
H.R. 1 contains harmful measures that affect the workforce and the foundation of a stakeholder economy. From imposing work requirements that threaten access to Medicaid for millions, to eliminating subsidized student loans and weakening judicial checks on regulatory enforcement, the bill erodes the systems necessary to support a healthy, equitable labor force and inclusive economic growth.
“This bill is a direct attack on businesses operating for the greater good. Businesses committed to ensuring a livable future,” said Camilla Taylor, Executive Director of ASBN. “At a time when consumers are demanding that businesses step up to lead on climate, equity, and responsible governance, Congress should be working to accelerate—not obstruct—this momentum. It is the government’s responsibility to build and maintain a regulatory environment that promotes prosperity and excellence. H.R. 1 represents a retreat from progress that will cost jobs, investment, and U.S. global leadership.”
H.R. 1 also includes language that curtails the ability of state and local governments to regulate artificial intelligence in election processes for the next decade, raising concerns about responsible governance, transparency, and democratic resilience. Trust in institutions is already fragile; silencing local innovation and oversight is an unnecessary and dangerous overreach.
The American Sustainable Business Network urges the Senate to reject these harmful provisions, regardless of political affiliation, and instead recommit to policies that support innovation, economic resilience, and sustainability for the common good. Businesses across the country—large and small, urban and rural—are already leading the way toward a clean energy future. They need public policy that reflects their commitment to long-term value creation for a just and regenerative economy that works for all.
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American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN) amplifies the collective voice of sustainable business to lead the way to a regenerative economy that is stakeholder-driven, just, and prosperous. As a multi-issue, membership organization advocating on behalf of every business sector, size, and geography, ASBN works to advance its mission to inform, connect, and mobilize sustainable business leaders, transforming the public and private sectors toward a just and regenerative economy.
