OPINION:
For too many in Michigan, the American Dream has fallen out of reach.
Lansing, under the guise of the “Green New Deal,” has sold our state out to “100% clean energy” mandates. The result? Soaring home and energy prices, the longest power outages in the nation, and fewer opportunities.
Misguided policies have created a housing crisis. The median cost of a new Michigan home in 2025 is over $430,000, pricing almost 80% of Michiganders out of homeownership. A vast majority of Michiganders believe that housing and rent costs are rising too fast.
Michigan is 140,000 houses short of supply, and Governor Gretchen Whitmer is pushing to adopt 2021 building codes: regulations that would add $15,000 to each home with requirements like unclear sprinkler rules and mandated solar. Already, regulatory costs add $93,870 to the price of each new Michigan house.
Tens of thousands of first-time homebuyers are losing their shot at homeownership locked out, priced out, and pushed away from the American Dream.
The pain doesn’t end there. Gov. Whitmer’s “MI Healthy Climate Plan” mandates that Michigan get 100% of its electricity from wind, solar, and batteries by 2050. That would mean an average $2,746 annual cost increase per customer.
Whitmer’s rush to 100% “clean energy” has left our families stuck with the longest power outages in the nation, while paying some of the highest utility and electric bills.
Michigan Democrats, following the globalist, far-left playbook, have deliberately weakened our grid, pushing overreliance on energy sources that can’t meet demand when they’re needed most. President Donald Trump, speaking at the UN Tuesday, hit the nail on the head: the rush to 100% clean energy only inflicts pain at home.
Clean air and clean water are nonnegotiable. But we must walk and chew gum at the same time. We can and must protect our environment, but an ivory tower approach concocted by environmentalists on some university campus that leaves working Michiganders behind isn’t a serious solution.
Then there’s the backbone of Michigan’s economy: the auto industry. President Biden’s radical EV mandates, supported by Whitmer, would have devastated our auto sector, put thousands of jobs at risk, and raised vehicle costs. If you want an EV, get an EV, but the government has no right to tell you what car you can buy.
I’m proud that my legislation pushing back on these EV mandates was signed into law by President Trump to restore choice and lower costs for families and consumers.
Lansing’s “clean” energy push may sound good to some, but it doesn’t counter, or even mitigate, the reality that China is responsible for a third of global emissions. Worse yet, many of these “clean” technologies deepen our dependence on adversaries and are built on materials sourced from horrific labor conditions that cause environmental disasters around the world. While there’s little evidence that Michigan’s policies actually help the environment, there is ample evidence that they hurt opportunities and threaten human rights at home and abroad.
It’s time for a new course. Michigan isn’t afraid of the future, but we DEMAND to be part of it. We know what works, and we’ve seen what doesn’t work. Here’s where we start:
End the overbearing regulations. Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re seeing much-needed permitting and regulatory reforms. One example is the One Big Beautiful Bill, which cut red tape on natural gas, a resource that provides more than 40% of Michigan’s energy and delivers cleaner, more reliable power. This reform alone could lower gas bills for Michiganders by 5-10% by this winter.
Michigan must do the same to unleash innovation not pile on regulation so we can build, grow, and prosper. Families and businesses deserve a climate that rewards ingenuity, opportunity and promotes certainty; not one suffocated by fantasy, crushed by bureaucracy, and crippled by regulatory whiplash.
Cut red tape to make housing affordable. Reverse Whitmer’s unworkable building codes and regulatory burdens that add tens of thousands to the cost of homes. I’m proposing a new law in Congress to simplify building codes and reduce costs, and we must do the same in Lansing.
Advance an all-of-the-above energy strategy. Michigan needs reliable, affordable energy. We must strengthen, not deliberately weaken, our grid and seek a multitude of options. This will lower energy and electric bills, and once again make Michigan a state that attracts jobs and investment.
Our choice is simple: an energy future that is unaffordable, unreliable, and un-American, or one that puts Michigan families and jobs first.
Governor Whitmer’s Green nightmare is killing the American Dream. But it’s not too late to change course. It’s time to protect opportunity, promote prosperity, and put Michigan families back in the driver’s seat.
• Rep. John James represents Michigan’s 10th Congressional District. He’s assigned to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he sits on the subcommittees on Energy, Health, and Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
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