Tell Congress to Keep Rural Energy Affordable and Reliable
ACT NOW
Please help your rural friends and neighbors 🗣️ Tell your members of Congress that if they want the support (and votes) of rural America, they must show that they are putting in the work to protect critical investments in rural energy jobs, electricity savings, and grid reliability in the upcoming farm bill and annual appropriations.
🇺🇸 The future of rural America is in danger ⚡️
USDA programs have faced ongoing funding freezes and staff layoffs, making it difficult for rural communities to access funds to keep them competitive.
Recently, the House of Representatives pushed through a short-sighted budget reconciliation bill. If the Senate follows suit without major adjustments, the transition to a renewable and reliable energy future will face devastating setbacks.
It is in this context that CURE and our friends at the Rural Power Coalition are fighting to defend:
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps six-million low-income residents pay utility bills, including during dangerously hot summer months and sub-freezing winter temperatures. In Minnesota, over 130,000 people receive assistance each year, with two-thirds living in Greater Minnesota. LIHEAP is a lifeline for many rural Minnesotans.
- New Energy Tax Credits, which provide incentives, such as the Clean Energy Production Tax Credit, Investment Tax Credit, and Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit, to modernize America’s energy generation and grid infrastructure, while empowering households, businesses, and municipalities to develop innovative energy projects. Cutting these credits would compromise the reliability of energy for rural residents and drastically increase their bills.
Without these programs, rural residents will face higher energy bills and reduced reliability, while wealth will continue to flow away from lower-income residents to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.