Fossil fuel-funded group attacks Baldwin for backing clean energy infrastructure law

A political group bankrolled by the oil and gas company Koch Industries has launched a $10 million campaign to attack Democratic lawmakers over their votes for the Inflation Reduction Act, the 2022 law that invested in clean energy infrastructure and instituted a 15% minimum tax for large corporations.

Americans for Prosperity Action, an arm of the climate-science-denying Americans for Prosperity, falsely claimed in a Sept. 5 press release that the Inflation Reduction Act, which all six targeted Democrats backed, “has cost families across the country an additional $1,000 every month.” 

Inflation has dropped significantly since passage of the law.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Americans for Prosperity Action said the data came from Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee, data that referred to the total impact of inflation since 2021. The spokesperson acknowledged that the law was not the sole source of those increased costs: “The so-called Inflation Reduction Act was $1.2T in additional spending that pushed inflation over that $1,000 per month threshold. We aren’t saying the IRA was solely responsible. The nearly $2T American Rescue Plan – supported by the same Senators – also played a major role in sending inflation into overdrive and contributing to that staggering figure. We call out the IRA specifically since the name of the bill – The Inflation Reduction Act – did not, in fact, reduce inflation.”

The Inflation Reduction Act contained provisions to cap the cost of insulin and prescription drugs for Medicare Part D subscribers, to extend health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act for three years, and to lower the cost of clean energy for consumers.

In Wisconsin, the group is running a 30-second ad against Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who is running for reelection.

The ad claims, citing no sources, that “Baldwin’s Inflation Reduction Act “drove inflation higher, costing Wisconsin families $1,000 more per month.” 

Inflation had increased under former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, but has cooled significantly since June 2022. Economic experts attributed the spike mostly to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to COVID-19, which disrupted global supply chains. 

Economist Stephen Brown said in an email to CNBC in July, “We only have to look at the still high inflation rates in most other advanced economies to see that most of this inflation period was really about global trends … rather than about the specific policy actions of any given government (though they did of course play some role).”

The ad then says Republican Senate nominee “Eric Hovde’s plan to lower inflation: rein in spending, cut taxes, get Washington out of the way. And he’ll stand up to both parties to deliver for Wisconsin.” Hovde has backed tax cuts for the richest Americans while urging policies that would result in tax increases for retirees and lower-income families. He is running as a defender of fossil fuels who wants to increase oil and gas drilling on public lands.

According to its filings with the Federal Election Commission, Americans for Prosperity Action has received about $141 million in donations so far this cycle.

Of that, at least $40 million came directly from Koch Industries; $25 million was from the Koch-linked Stand Together Chamber of Commerce; and $8.5 million was from their affiliated In Pursuit Of public relations agency.