CHARLESTON – A former state senator who previously led West Virginia’s economic development initiatives is urging President Donald Trump and Congress to keep in place energy tax credits, while U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito believes that some of those credits need to be reviewed or repealed.

Mitch Carmichael, a former member of the House of Delegates and state Senate, is the leader of Built for America, a new advocacy organization, urging the Trump administration to not roll back energy tax credits.

Carmichael served as state Senate president and lieutenant governor from 2017 to the end of 2020, then served under former governor and current U.S. Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., as the first secretary of the new Department of Economic Development until the fall of 2024.

During his tenure as a cabinet secretary, Carmichael oversaw the recruitment of several major manufacturers to the state, including the Form Energy grid battery project in Weirton, and the Berkshire Hathaway/Timet titanium melt facility near Ravenswood that will be powered by a solar energy microgrid. Carmichael also serves as a senior advisor for strategic initiative for LG Nova.

These projects, along with many others across the nation, are benefiting from energy tax credits within bills signed by former President Joe Biden, including the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). But Carmichael said these tax credits are vital to Trump’s goal to return manufacturing back to the United States.

“I’m proud to lead Built for America as Executive Director because the fight to defend the energy tax credits driving America’s manufacturing comeback is one we can’t afford to lose,” Carmichael said. “Built for America is a new organization working to defend the tax credits that are powering America’s manufacturing comeback, creating jobs, and helping America beat China.”

Following his inauguration for a second non-consecutive term in January, Trump ordered all federal agencies to pause disbursement of funds appropriated through the 2022 IRA or the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, in a 215-214-1 vote, sending it to the U.S. Senate.

The bill is a budget and spending reconciliation package which continues the 2017 tax cuts that went into effect during Trump’s first term and are set to expire at the end of 2025. The bill also includes nearly $1.5 trillion in spending cuts through various methods, including work requirements for Medicaid benefits and the elimination of several tax credits made possible by the IRA.

Specifically, the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would eliminate tax breaks and incentives for wind, solar, hydrogen projects, as well as phase out tax credits for consumers purchasing new electric vehicles among other rollbacks. If enacted as the House intended, the rollbacks could end more than $522 billion in investments made possible through the IRA.

However, Carmichael argued that these tax credits are tied to performance, not politics, with the tax credits rewarding businesses that complete major energy projects and put Americans back to work.

“They reward U.S. companies that build here, hire here, and deliver results by putting America first,” Carmichael said. “Unlike mandates…these credits are performance-based and results-driven. They support an all-of-the-above energy approach, empowering innovation in nuclear, geothermal, carbon capture, and other emerging technologies.”

Carmichael also said repealing the tax breaks would benefit companies competing with the U.S. for energy, such as China. Built for America is launching a $2 million ad campaign aimed at swaying Congress and the White House to reconsider some of the proposed cuts.

“No one has done more to jumpstart American manufacturing than President Trump, and these credits are aligned with his America First mission,” Carmichael said. “They’re helping us beat China, rebuild the middle class, and power a new era of American industrial strength. That’s a fight worth having.

“Repealing these credits would ship jobs and supply chains back to China and hand America’s energy future to our adversaries,” Carmichael continued. “That’s why I’m proud to stand with Built for America and lead this fight.”

Capito, R-W.Va., is the chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Capito has been a frequent critic of the energy tax credits within the IRA. Speaking to reporters Thursday during a weekly phone call from Capitol Hill. Capito said the IRA’s energy tax credits need to be received and reconsidered in some cases.

“Everything was tilted towards clean energy, and it was just incredibly lopsided and incredibly generous, so those need to be scaled back no doubt, and some of them absolutely probably need to be stopped immediately,” Capito said. “Others, I think, need a better transition.”

As an example, Capito cited the 45V hydrogen tax credit created by the IRA, which offers incentives for the production of clean hydrogen, with potential payouts up to $3 per kilogram of hydrogen produced. Capito advocated for regional hydrogen hubs in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, including what is now the ARCH2 Appalachian hydrogen hub project.

“The House put in their bill that in order for you to take advantage of 45V…you have to be under construction by the end of this year,” Capito said. “Well, you and I both know, and I think those at the ARCH2 Appalachian hydrogen hub know, that’s impossible. That knocks us out of the game, and I don’t want to see us knocked out of being a leader on a new and promising type of energy production…So, I’ve asked if we can make provisions there.”

Once other Senate committees release their reconciliation language, the Senate could begin voting on its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill reconciliation package by the end of next week. Capito said Congress needs to get the energy incentives right.

“We need to unleash American energy,” Capito said. “The (previous) administration has spent three and a half years trying to cap our American innovation in the energy space and we’re going to open it back up again – one of (Trump’s) main tenants for his presidency…I’m very excited to be able to be a part of that.”