Nevadans speak out on high gas, utility bills
Click play to listen to this article.
Affordability was the hot topic this week at a town hall meeting in Las Vegas, and it's expected to be top of the agenda, alongside tax policy, when President Donald Trump touches down in the Silver State Thursday.
With some of the highest gas prices in the nation and rising utility costs, Nevadans are asking Congress to provide some relief. U.S. Representative Susie Lee, D-Nevada, speaking to constituents at the town hall, said Republicans have used their control of both houses to undo years of progress on affordable clean energy.
© iStock - FotoCuisinette
"Everything we did with the Inflation Reduction Act, all the investments that were really intended to help people make that initial investment to convert to renewable energy for their own home, has been obliterated," she said.
Republicans have pulled millions of dollars in social services grants. United Way of Southern Nevada has lost $6 million over the past few years, money slated for food banks and for a program to help seniors pay their utility bills. Republicans also ended the tax break that helped people buy electric vehicles, citing cost, instead prioritizing policies favorable to the oil and gas industry.
Kristee Watson, executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, said last summer’s Republican funding bill undermined programs to help people save money on utilities.
"Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' took away existing tax credits that would help families heat and cool their homes more efficiently," she said. "Also, tax credits for weatherization and solar panel installation."
Jacky Spicer, coalition coordinator for the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition, said she fears people will put their health in danger during heat waves exacerbated by climate change.
"We're expecting this summer to be really hot," she said, "but there are people who will not turn on their AC in the summertime to try and save money."
U.S. Representatives Lee, Stephen Horsford and Dina Titus, all D-Nevada, are all original co-sponsors of the Energy Bills Relief Act, which would prevent abuses of federal permitting processes that have been used to block renewable energy. It would also reinstate tax credits for energy efficiency improvements.