Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) recently joined ConservAmerica president Jeff Kupfer to discuss his leadership on conservation and climate issues since joining Congress in 2021. At 39, Rep. Garbarino is a strong voice for younger generations in the Republican party, and we are certainly impressed by his dedication to these issues so far.
We started our conversation by discussing Rep. Garbarino’s involvement in several caucuses, including the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus. He joined the Problem Solvers Caucus first, explaining that he developed an ability to work with the other side during his eight years as a Republican in the deep-blue New York State legislature. Rep. Garbarino is also heavily involved in the Climate Solutions Caucus, which he now co-chairs. After working hard to recruit Republicans over the past few years, the caucus is now split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, and its focus is now on implementing market-based climate policies. Additionally, he is a member of the Conservative Climate Caucus, which he described as effective in educating Republicans about climate issues.
Next, we discussed a letter Rep. Garbarino and 17 fellow House Republicans sent to Speaker Mike Johnson last month to support clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). As the conference prepares for a tax reconciliation bill next year, potentially under a second Trump term , there has been considerable focus on the future of the IRA. As Rep. Garbarino points out, a full repeal would be a mistake – particularly given the significant investments in clean energy manufacturing jobs in Republican districts – as we’ve stressed in recent OpEds. It’s also very unlikely, as several former Trump appointees, including Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette and FERC chairman Neil Chatterjee, have recently opined. That doesn’t mean specific IRA provisions, like handouts to politically connected nonprofits, should survive. However, we encourage Republicans to debate and discuss IRA investments that can benefit the American people and consider the consequences of cuts that would “stop development that’s already ongoing.”
Finally, we asked Rep. Garbarino about the permitting bill recently passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, led by Sens. Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Joe Barrasso (R-WY). While the congressman asserted a significant bi-partisan appetite for fixing our country’s burdensome permitting processes, he didn’t seem confident that this bill would pass by the end of the year. This is for two reasons. First, politics are heavily at play. Most of the legislation the House has sent to the Senate this session hasn’t moved past “the Graveyard of Charles Shumer’s desk,” as Garbarino put it, and this would need to change to realistically motivate the House to move on permitting. Second, while the Manchin-Barrasso bill is a step in the right direction, the congressman believes it falls short regarding lawsuit reform. Our current permitting system empowers litigious activists to kill projects by abusing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, and we certainly agree with the congressman that tackling this system of weaponized litigation needs to be prioritized. For further discussion on the permitting bill, see our recent webinar with Alex Herrgott of The Permitting Institute and Scott Segal of Bracewell.
Less than four years into his career on the Hill, Rep. Garbarino has quickly emerged as a leader on conservation and climate issues. He works across the aisle and within the GOP to advance a common-sense, market-based approach necessary for a clean and prosperous future. We thank him for joining us for this discussion.