Senate Budget Bill Delivers a Blow to Clean Energy, but Public Lands Sell-Off Averted

WASHINGTON (July 1, 2025) – The U.S. Senate today passed its federal budget bill, legislation that could have a lasting impact on our nation’s ability to halt the decline of migratory birds across the hemisphere. If enacted, the bill would result in a significant setback in U.S. manufacturing and deployment of utility-scale wind and solar by removing existing tax incentives. This is expected to lead to rising energy prices for American families and businesses by an estimated 9% in the next year alone.  The final bill avoided inclusion of language that would have set new precedent for selling off public lands, but mandates oil and gas lease sales in critical bird habitat of Alaska’s western Arctic.

“These actions will undermine utility-scale wind and solar energy, unduly burdening one of our most cost-effective energy generation sources, which has spurred 400,000 new jobs and $441 billion in investments over the last two years,” said Felice Stadler, vice president of government affairs at the National Audubon Society. “We are currently seeing record-high investments in wind and solar, which this legislation threatens to upend, leading to American families and businesses paying more in energy bills and putting well-paying clean energy and manufacturing jobs at risk. While we appreciate the efforts of several lawmakers to soften the blow of this legislation on the clean energy sector, regrettably they fell short.”

“We are pleased to see the language requiring sales of public lands removed from the final bill and thank the Senators who publicly advocated for protecting our nation’s public lands, but we are disappointed that mandating oil and gas lease sales in Alaska’s fragile ecosystems remain,” Stadler added. “Our nation’s birds and the natural resources upon which we all depend requires investing in conserving our lands and simultaneously investing in clean energy to tackle the two main drivers of migratory bird decline across the hemisphere: climate change and biodiversity loss.”  

In the weeks leading up to the Senate’s passage of the bill, Audubon engaged with thousands of its members, supporters, state and local chapters, and other partners to advocate for public lands and clean energy.

About Audubon 
The National Audubon Society is a leading nonprofit conservation organization with 120 years of science-based, community-driven impact, dedicated to protecting birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Birds are powerful indicators of our planet’s health, acting as sentinels that warn us of environmental change and inspire action. Audubon works across the Western Hemisphere, driven by the understanding that what is good for birds is good for the planet. Through a collaborative, bipartisan approach across habitats, borders, and the political spectrum, Audubon drives meaningful and lasting conservation outcomes. With 800 staff and over 1.9 million supporters, Audubon is a dynamic and ever-growing force committed to ensuring a better planet for both birds and people for generations to come. Learn more at www.audubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety. 

Media Contact: Jeff Billington, jeff.billington@audubon.org