New tax credits are available for companies that generate clean electricity, the Biden administration announced Tuesday, while arguing it would be a mistake for President-elect Donald Trump to try to undo them after he takes office Jan. 20.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service released final rules for the clean electricity investment and production tax credits, less than two weeks before Trump is inaugurated. The credits are among roughly two dozen tax provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, passed in 2022 with only Democrat support. The credits are designed to save families money on their energy bills and accelerate the deployment of clean energy, electric vehicles, energy efficient buildings and low-carbon manufacturing.

The U.S. currently gets more than 40% of its power from clean energy sources like solar, wind, hydropower and nuclear.

The centerpiece of Trump’s energy policy is “drill, baby, drill,” and he has pledged to dismantle what he calls Democrats’ “green new scam” in favor of boosting production of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal, which cause climate change when they are burned and greenhouse gases are released. Trump has vowed to end subsidies for wind power that were included in the landmark 2022 climate law.

— Associated Press

Trump touts $20B data center investment

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a $20 billion investment for data centers in the United States by an Emirati company led by billionaire Hussain Sajwani, a close business partner of the Trump family.

The investment by DAMAC Properties in the United Arab Emirates is intended to highlight Trump’s personal ability to attract new money for big projects. The announcement follows a pledge made last month by the Japanese billionaire investor Masayoshi Son, while at Trump’s side, to invest $100 billion in the United States.

Trump said at a news conference that he believed Sajwani made the commitment because “he was very inspired by the election and wouldn’t do it without the election.” The president-elect emphasized his plans to get investments of $1 billion or more through the environmental regulatory review process quickly.

Job openings rise sharply in November

U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in November, showing companies are still looking for workers even as the labor market has cooled overall.

Openings rose to 8.1 million in November, the most since February and up from 7.8 million in October, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. They were down from 8.9 million a year earlier and a peak of 12.2 million in March 2022 as the economy was recovering from COVID-19 lockdowns. But they still exceed pre-pandemic levels.

Economists had expected job openings to fall slightly in November.

Layoffs rose slightly in November, and the number of people quitting their jobs fell, suggesting that Americans are less confident in their ability to find better jobs elsewhere.

Feds to ban medical debt from credit reports

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved Tuesday to ban medical debt from appearing on credit reports, potentially lifting the credit scores of about 15 million Americans and making it easier for them to obtain loans.

The finalized new rule would effectively prohibit loan providers from using medical information while making lending decisions. It is set to take effect 60 days after publication in the federal register, but with President-elect Donald Trump returning to office this month, its future remains in question.

The bureau has found that having medical debt on a credit report is not a good predictor of whether a borrower will repay a loan, and that consumers frequently report receiving inaccurate bills. Biden administration officials said the change could result in Americans with medical debt on their credit reports could see their credit scores increase by an average of 20 points.

The rule would remove an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from credit reports, according to the agency.

— From news services