Rep. Mike Kelly benefits from Inflation Reduction Act after voting against it

Congressman Mike Kelly was an outspoken critic of President Joe Biden’s climate change legislation but that didn’t stop him from using solar credits for his car dealership.

Congressman Mike Kelly (R-Erie), who voted against President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, received grant funding from the bill to install solar panels at his Uniontown car dealership, according to reporting by the Erie-Times News.

Kelly’s dealership, the Mike Kelly Automotive Group, received a $315,000 grant from the US Department of Agriculture to install a solar array that will save his company over $23,000 per year. 

Kelly voted against the “so-called Inflation Reduction Act” when it passed in August 2022. 

“Make no mistake: Democrats are raising taxes on Americans amidst record inflation and a looming recession,” Kelly said in a statement at the time. 

“This bill is loaded with bad policy and wasteful spending that will ultimately worsen inflation, expand government, and hurt the middle-class.”

However, Kelly’s office started singing a different tune after the Erie-Times News reported their story. 

“Representative Kelly’s energy policy has always supported an all-of-the-above approach,” Matt Knoedler, a Kelly spokesperson, said in a statement to the media outlet. “Additionally, Rep. Kelly does not have an active role in the day-to-day operations of his family’s business.”

Fighting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are some of the most important provisions of the IRA by establishing a mix of tax credits and rebates for companies and consumers so they can manufacture and purchase clean energy technologies and products. 

The Rocky Mountain Institute, a think-tank looking to reshape America’s energy’s policies, estimates that Pennsylvania will receive as much as $28 billion from the IRA by 2030 and it can create as many as 43,801 jobs during that time.