Pennsylvania Republican Got Solar Panel Money From Biden Bill He Opposed

[BumRushDaShow]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by GP6971 (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Huff Post

May 1, 2024, 08:04 AM EDT


Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), an outspoken critic of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, used the law to receive a grant to install solar panels at one of his car dealership locations.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave a Uniontown dealership owned by Mike Kelly Automotive Group a nearly $315,000 grant to install a 261.9-kilowatt solar panel array, according to the Erie Times-News, the local news outlet that first reported the grant on Monday. The grant is set to save the firm $23,700 per year in energy costs, according to the USDA.

The USDA distributed the grant through its Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The program has existed since 2018, but the Inflation Reduction Act injected an additional $1 billion into the program dramatically expanding its scope. The federal government then announced that it would distribute that money in grants to rural businesses over the course of 2023 and 2024.

In his official statement following the bill’s passage, Kelly derided the legislation that made those grants possible as the “so-called Inflation Reduction Act,” charging that it was “loaded with bad policy and wasteful spending that will ultimately worsen inflation, expand government, and hurt the middle-class.”

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mike-kelly-inflation-reduction-act-solar-grant_n_6631c4bae4b0279447aca046

[ebbie15644]

1. Of course it was him

I thought it was immediately

[Diamond_Dog]

2. When I saw this headline

I just knew it had to be that shitbag Kelly!

I live right across the state line from his district.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. I think he may have done that previously

and kept begging off about his dealerships.

In fact -

Congressman Mike Kelly Denies Any Wrongdoing In His Car Dealership Getting Coronavirus PPP Loan

July 7, 2020 / 7:40 PM EDT / CBS Pittsburgh



PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Small Business Administration reported that a car dealership owned by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, a Butler Republican, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in pandemic relief.

Kelly is not alone. At least five members of Congress in both political parties may have benefited from the Payroll Protection Program. That brought a strong denunciation from Kelly's Democratic opponent, Kristy Gnibus.

Rep. Kelly says he did nothing wrong. "I have made no decisions in this business since 2011," Rep. Kelly told KDKA political editor Jon Delano on Tuesday.

Kelly still owns Kelly Automotive in Butler, but he says his son Brendan makes all the decisions, like applying to PNC Bank for a minimum $600,000 PPP loan under the CARES Act.

(snip)

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/cong-kelly-denies-any-wrongdoing-in-his-car-dealership-getting-pandemic-relief/

[Joe Cool]

4. Kelly is my rep. He is utterly useless.

The typical sleazy used car dealer. Pat you on the back with one hand and steal your wallet with the other.

[Traurigkeit]

7. "Pat you on the back with one hand and steal your wallet with the other" -- Love that line

even works well with Republicans.

[Wounded Bear]

10. Or maybe: Steal your wallet and then help you look for it...

[Justice matters.]

5. The cultists in his district won't care.

They will still vote for him against their own interests.


Aside to mods: I touched the Alert link by mistake while scrolling using my laptop's touchpad without realizing the Alert link got activated by mistake. I just hit the backpage arrow not knowing what to do. Apologies. (Dunno where I could signal my mistake, sorry.)

[PatSeg]

13. And those same "cultists"

will take advantage of whatever perks the Biden administration provides, complaining about the wasteful spending as they do.

[republianmushroom]

6. Typical republican hypocrisy.

[et tu]

8. glad he finally sees the light lol nt

[NBachers]

9. How much of that money went into his own pocket?

[Owens]

11. So a Republican got a handout ????

Is he now a socialist?

[twodogsbarking]

12. A lot of Pa people suck money up that Dems provided and then they curse them and vote Rep..

Rich, poor and in 'tween. Trust me on this.

[0rganism]

14. If the actual cost came in closer to $290000, he'd have $25000 left over to launder for campaign slush

I wouldn't be surprised to see his local solar panel installers up their donations to his campaign PACs proportionally. Subtract their increase in donations from the full $315k to find the actual cost of material and installation. Just speculation of course, no basis in fact.

[GP6971]

15. Locking per Host Consensus.

Feature article better suited for GD.

Please feel free to repost in GD.