The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have spurred the largest federal climate investments in history, creating 900 new U.S. factories and 400,000 jobs, according to the Elected Officials to Protect America at a Press Club press conference.
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By Shanteya Hudson
May 8, 2025
The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have spurred the largest federal climate investments in history, creating 900 new U.S. factories and 400,000 jobs, according to the Elected Officials to Protect America. (Adobe Stock)
Veteran lawmakers from Georgia and across the country warn that rolling back federal climate protections threatens America’s energy security and public health. At a D.C. summit, Elected Officials to Protect America underscored how the Inflation Reduction Act has delivered clean-energy jobs and environmental justice gains.
Actress Yetide Badaki was among them, and cautioned that this progress is now under threat — urging Americans that now is the time to take action for justice and defend key climate laws.
“Until January 2025, for the first time, communities that had been left behind from the American dream were experiencing economic and environmental justice opportunities with the Inflation Reduction Act,” she explained.
Badaki reminded the audience that protecting climate laws isn’t just about policy — it’s about ensuring opportunity, justice, and a better future for communities across the country.
Deborah Loomis, a former senior advisor for climate change for the Navy, was among others who urged Congress to protect key climate investments was She explained that military efforts are tied directly to climate resilience, and described projects such as modernizing naval base infrastructure and improving grid reliability — steps she says are crucial not just for the environment, but for national security. Loomis emphasized that maintaining energy efficiency investments ensures military readiness while protecting taxpayer dollars.
“Little-known fact: A place like Naval Station Norfolk loses power on average 150 times per year. That’s not just climate change. That’s a combination of things. That’s aging infrastructure coupled with flooding, et cetera. But it doesn’t matter. We can’t have that,” she contended.
Rep. Sandra Scott, D- Murrow, also an Army veteran, also attended. She stressed that the Inflation Reduction Act has brought billions of dollars in clean-energy investments and thousands of jobs to the state. However, she warned those gains are now in jeopardy because of policy reversals and federal uncertainty. She added that protecting these policies is crucial not only for economic progress but also to preserve the strides made toward climate justice and equity.
“Everyone has the right to breathe fresh air, drink clean water and grow up in an energy-secure America,” she explained. “EVs are critically important to help clean up toxic air pollution that affects environmental justice communities disproportionately the most.”
Scott said that without swift action, Georgia and other states risk losing not only clean-energy progress but also the chance to secure healthier, more resilient communities for the future.