Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Claims Inflation Reduction Act “Hurts Georgia,” Ignoring the 19,000 New Jobs and $21 Billion in Investment Generated in Just Over a Year
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Atlanta, GA – In an interview on Bloomberg Television given at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp falsely claimed that the IRA has “hurt” Georgia more than it’s helped the state. This interview follows the governor’s “state of the state” address on January 11, in which he took credit for Georgia’s economic growth and claimed that “Georgia is succeeding because we’ve…rejected the failed policies of Washington D.C.”
“The Inflation Reduction Act is powering a made-in-America manufacturing boom in states across the country,” said Climate Power’s States Managing Director Saumya Narechania. “It is plainly evident that the IRA is helping Georgia—companies investing in the state have even credited the law. Governor Kemp should be embracing this growth—not denigrating it.”
In fact, since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law in the summer of 2022, the legislation has led to the creation of over 19,000 good-paying clean energy jobs and $21 billion in investment in Georgia. The IRA has driven private investment across the state: Earlier this month, Qcells announced that it would supply Microsoft with solar power through panels made at its $2.5 billion factory in Georgia. Hyundai is constructing a $4.3 billion plant in Savannah with LG, which is projected to bring 3,000 jobs.
In his interview with Bloomberg, the governor said, “Washington, D.C. right now is picking winners and losers with the IRA…They’re helping the union-backed automobile producers, and they’re hurting the folks that we have coming to Georgia.” Yet, factory worker raises at plants in Georgia were in fact due to the UAW agreement reached this fall.
Kemp also claimed that companies like Hyundai weren’t motivated by the IRA—even though Hyundai executives have said they sped up production in order to access IRA incentives. The IRA’s domestic production requirements are doing exactly what they’re intended to do: help American workers by keeping jobs right here in the United States, and ensure that Georgians reap the benefits of the clean energy boom.
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