1. United States
2. N.D.
3. Letter

The Trump administration's spending bill is projected to significantly raise energy costs for North Dakota residents and businesses. According to a nonpartisan analysis, the law will increase electricity rates by 11-17% and annual household energy expenses will rise by $62 in 2030 and $180 by 2035. This negatively impacts our state's progress in developing clean energy sources like wind power and becoming a regional energy exporter. The bill repeals clean energy tax credits that were driving renewable energy investment and growth. It also expands oil and gas drilling on public lands while cutting royalty rates for fossil fuel extraction. This disincentivizes the transition to cleaner sources and locks in continued reliance on polluting fuels. As a result, the analysis forecasts a 2.2 gigawatt decrease in North Dakota's electricity generation capacity by 2035, thousands of job losses in the clean energy sector, and hundreds of millions in annual GDP losses for our state's economy. This shortsighted legislation threatens our environmental goals and economic prospects. I urge you to publicly denounce these harmful provisions and demand our federal representatives take corrective action. North Dakotans should not have to bear these costs from misguided policies that undermine our state's interests and climate commitments. Decisive leadership is needed to mitigate these damaging impacts and put us back on a sustainable path forward.