Biden bashes Boebert for opposing bill that backed CS Wind expansion in Pueblo

President Joe Biden doesn’t mention Pueblo’s representative in Congress — or developments in Pueblo — every day.

But he directly called out Rep. Lauren Boebert and mentioned a recent major investment into a Pueblo wind turbine manufacturing facility during a Wednesday speech near Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Biden said that CS Wind, a Korean company, recently started construction on what will be the world’s largest turbine manufacturing facility.

“Coincidentally, CS Wind is Congresswoman Lauren Boebert — you know, that very quiet Republican lady? — it's in her district, who along with every other Republican voted against this bill. It's making all this possible and she railed against its passage. But that's okay, she's welcoming it now,” Biden said.

How Boebert is responding to Biden's comments

Boebert has also been targeting Biden directly in recent months.

She filed articles of impeachment against Biden in June related to his decisions about the southern U.S. border, which received some pushback from some members of her own party though the Republican-led House voted to refer to committee for review.

During a speech at the Pueblo County GOP’s “Freedom Fest” event in early July, Boebert and Donald Trump Jr. called out the president and his son Hunter Biden.

Boebert directly responded to one of Biden’s statements in a tweet Thursday morning. She wrote that Biden’s characterization of her as “very quiet Republican lady” was “wishful thinking.”

“I'm calling you out every single day and I won't be getting more quiet about it anytime soon!” Boebert wrote.

A spokesperson for Boebert referred the Chieftain to Boebert’s tweet but did not respond to a request to elaborate prior to the Chieftain’s deadline.

What is the Inflation Reduction Act?

The Inflation Reduction Act, a scaled-back version of Biden’s initial “Build Back Better” legislation opposed by a few moderate Democrats in the Senate, passed Congress with only Democratic support in summer 2022.

The wide-ranging bill included expanding Medicare benefits, capping insulin prices, reducing the price of home energy, creating a minimum 15% tax for some corporations and new tax breaks for clean energy to reduce carbon emissions.

The tax breaks in the Inflation Reduction Act were the impetus for CS Wind’s expansion in Pueblo, a company executive said in April. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said at the groundbreaking ceremony that the tax breaks available to CS Wind’s customers could be up to 40% of the cost of the towers.

The expansion will lead to 850 new jobs when completed.

Boebert vehemently opposed the Inflation Reduction Act last summer, when Republicans remained in the minority in the U.S. House. She said on the House floor that supporters of the bill were “insane” because “reckless spending” in D.C. leads to inflation, Newsweek reported.

“You are sacrificing American families at the altar of climate change,” Boebert said before she was told to stop speaking.

Boebert has opposed omnibus bills and held up the nomination of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to force rule changes on topics including the scope of legislation.

Anna Lynn Winfrey covers politics for the Pueblo Chieftain. She can be reached at awinfrey@gannett.com or on Twitter, @annalynnfrey. Please support local news at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Biden bashes Boebert for opposing bill that backed CS Wind expansion