2026 Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO: U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.)
Watch on YouTubeVideo summary
U.S. Representative Sharice Davids from Kansas opens her remarks by emphasizing that effective energy policy must be grounded in the daily realities faced by families rather than abstract data points like megawatts or emissions curves often discussed in Washington, D.C. She highlights how high household energy costs directly impact a person's ability to pay for essentials such as rent, car payments, and groceries, noting that even extreme heat in Kansas makes these financial pressures feel more acute. Davids argues that the most significant way policy shapes lives is through its effect on monthly utility bills, making it crucial for lawmakers to understand how decisions ripple down to affect individual budgets across the country.
A central theme of her speech is the success and importance of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which she credits with providing tangible financial relief to households while strengthening domestic energy production. She shares a specific example from Kansas where a family received approximately $285 in tax credits for installing a heat pump, an upgrade they might not have otherwise afforded; when combined with monthly savings on their utility bill, this amount represents a massive difference between struggling to pay basic bills and having financial breathing room. Davids notes that the IRA is estimated to reduce average utility costs by about $500 per year in Kansas alone, money that stays within family budgets to offset rising expenses elsewhere, proving that federal incentives can deliver real-world stability for consumers.
However, Rep. Davids also warns against recent legislative setbacks, specifically pointing out her vote against the Republican budget law last year which rolled back several energy tax credits from the IRA. She cites independent studies suggesting such rollbacks could increase average annual energy costs by $170 to as much as $280 through 2035, a figure she stresses is not theoretical but real money that affects tight household budgets for groceries and childcare. To counter these threats and ensure long-term stability, she outlines her focus on protecting existing benefits while advancing new initiatives like the American Biofuels Act, supporting E15 fuel adoption, and introducing legislation to expand manufacturing tax credits to include critical components like distribution transformers, all aimed at building a reliable, affordable, and resilient energy system.
In conclusion, Davids calls for continued collaboration among policymakers to address both immediate family needs and broader systemic issues such as transmission deployment and supply chain security. She expresses her commitment to working alongside colleagues to reduce emissions while simultaneously lowering monthly bills and strengthening domestic industry, ultimately striving to create a grid where people do not have to worry about losing power or facing unaffordable utility rates. Her message is one of optimism grounded in practical action, urging the audience that by uniting their expertise and passion on Capitol Hill, they can build an energy future that reduces stress for families while making the entire system work better for everyone involved.
Read the full video transcript
Oh, well, good morning everyone. Uh, I'm
Sherice Davids. I represent the Kansas
third district. Uh, I got elected in
2018
and so I'm in my fourth term. About
eight years, feels like 20. Uh, but
>> I I'm so glad to be here and um I I'm
>> I'm probably more nervous than usual
because I have to go after my colleague
uh Congresswoman Mlullen who I just
think is uh such an amazing uh such an
amazing member of Congress. Uh the
country is better for her being here. Um
and you know, she touched on some of the
stuff that uh that I I
completely agree with. I got a couple
examples of um what it's like back home
in Kansas, but you know, I think we all
recognize that a lot of the time when
when folks are talking about energy
policy, we often start with um
especially here in in DC, we start with
megawws, we start with emissions curves,
we start with market signals um and and
what are those like deep policy um
points? But the first thing that uh
folks back home and and families and um
uh and and folks who are impacted by
that policy think about is so much
simpler. It's it's like what what what's
my bill going to look like this month
when I open it up? Um how what's it
going to cost to keep the lights on to
heat or cool as it is now? um the home,
run the appliances,
and it's because the household energy
costs are often one of the most direct
ways that energy policy shapes people's
experience and lives. And right now, I
mean, I'm sure we're all we're all
feeling this. It's been just as hot in
Kansas and humid as it h as it has been
out here. But h but those costs are just
like they're too high. They were high
before. They're getting higher now and
families in Kansas are feeling that and
folks across the country are feeling it.
In in 2022,
I had the opportunity to work on and
vote for uh and and ultimately we got
passed the inflation reduction act which
really had I mean it had a number of um
of grills but to lower costs for
families and strengthen domestic energy
production which is so important. We've
seen some of the policy from that start
to take shape. We we created tax credits
and rebates that make clean energy more
affordable for households and
businesses, including incentives for
electric vehicles and strong domestic
manufacturing requirements. We also
created tax credits to build more of the
solar panels and wind turbines and
battery cells that uh we should be
building here in the US to the extent
possible instead of getting them from
other places, other countries. And and
then we saw significant residential
incentives that help families do things
like install energy efficiency upgrades,
heat pumps, which uh Eric Dune is a big
fan of. Uh and other clean technologies
that reduce our our monthly utility
bills. Um and you know, I got the chance
to see a family in Kansas. I uh uh they
had a real cute house. I was kind of
jealous. Um, it's mostly the aesthetics.
I need help with the aesthetics, but I
got to see one of these new like a a
family that got the chance to install a
heat pump that they otherwise wouldn't
have done and they received a tax credit
of like $285
and combined with the savings that they
see each month. Like this is the type of
stuff that unfortunately out here in DC,
the folks who are in these
decision-making positions might not
realize how big of a difference $285 of
a tax credit plus monthly savings
actually can mean for a family. The
difference between having to sit and
decide, am I going to pay my cell phone
bill, the car bill, the utility bill, or
my rent? Like those are the kinds of
things that like $285 plus the monthly
savings is a huge huge benefit. And in
Kansas alone, the inflation reduction
act, you know, we've got estimates. Um
I'm sure some of the folks in this room
help us put these things together and
and find these things out. But uh in
Kansas alone, the inflation reduction
act is estimated to reduce utility costs
by about by about $500 per year on
average. Like $500 is a lot of money.
And um that's like that's money that's
staying in that family's budget and is
going to be able to help offset some of
the increasing costs in other areas. But
we also know that progress is not
guaranteed when we're talking about this
stuff. Last year I was one of the folks
who voted against the Republican le
budget law that rolled back some of
those energy tax credits that that we
got passed in the inflation reduction
act. Um, and you know, we're we're in a
constant state. I imagine you guys are
too. Sometimes I feel like I'm just up
here preaching to the choir. Um, like,
let's build more transmission lines.
Okay. Um, but some of these independent
groups that study this stuff have have
highlighted that the the budget that
they passed last year might increase
energy costs on average $170 per year
through 2035. And then some of them have
it much higher at $280 annually.
again like this is this is real money
when you're trying to figure out you
know my mom will drive across town uh I
in Kansas City you've got we've got a
state line actually I feel like it's
similar for Congresswoman Bzinski who
just walked in um where on one side of
the state line the gas price is
different because of the state level
taxes my mom will drive across town for
six cents cheaper gas and like
It's real. $285,
$385.
Like, this is real money. And um you
guys already know this again like our
like families are really balancing tight
budgets. It's not an abstraction. It's
groceries, it's child care, it's rent,
and um and everything that we can do.
and with your expertise helping us
figure out how to do uh what we can to
to address the issues for families, but
also as it relates to to the work you're
doing, the system level consequences,
less deployment certainty, weaker
domestic manufacturing signals, higher
long-term cost volatility across the
entire grid. Like this impacts every
single level of um of layman to
professional across the board. And it's
one of the reasons that my focus is
trying to protect the benefits and the
um the progress that we've already made
and also look at ways that we can
continue to strengthen um things like
American bofuels. Uh big supporter of
E15
uh trying to make the market more stable
both for producers and consumers. Uh I
support the low-income housing energy
assistance program lie. I think I can
say lie heap to you guys and you know um
I I've introduced the circuit act which
would help strengthen domestic supply
chains by expanding the 45x advanced
manufacturing tax credit to include
distribution transformer components. I
love that I'm in a room where I can say
that and people are like yeah that's
right. Um and I mean you guys know this
without the hardware we're not going to
be able to we're not going to be able to
do any of this stuff. And so just
figuring out ways that we can all be
part of building a system that's
reliable, that's affordable, that's
resilient, and that people can depend on
every day because the type of work we do
is is I hope in in an effort to make it
so that people are just a little bit
less stressed out. People should not
have to worry about whether or not
they're going to be able to make rent
because of their utility bills or that
the lights will come on when they flip
the light on or that the air
conditioning will come on. Um, and so
like if we continue to work together, as
Rep. Mlelen said so much more
eloquently, um, that like the work we do
together can help reduce emissions, we
can reduce monthly bills, we can
strengthen domestic domestic industry,
supply chains, and then just make make
the whole system work better for
everybody. And um, you know, this is a
standard that I have been working
toward. I'm going to continue working
toward and I'm so looking forward to
continuing that work with you all and um
thank you so much for being here for
bringing your expertise and your passion
to the hill because um uh we'll just
take all the good vibes we can get out
here. So, thank you guys. All right,
have a good day.
>> Thank you. Good luck in a committee.
>> Thank you so much.
>> We'll follow up. We'll follow up.
>> Thank you so much for joining us today.
Good luck with the rest of your