[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 72 (Friday, April 28, 2023)] [House] [Pages H2093-H2103] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-28
Chamber: HOUSE
Mr. SMITH : I include in the Record an article from Politico called ``Trio of Democratic senators back resolution to undue Biden's solar tariff pause.''  [From POLITICO PRO, Apr. 26, 2023]  Trio of Democratic Senators Back Resolution To Undo Biden's Solar Tariff Pause  (By Kelsey Tamborrino)  Three Democratic senators said Wednesday they'd vote to rescind President Joe Biden's two-year pause on new solar import tariffs from four Southeast Asian countries--raising the stakes on the measure that is set to force Democrats to weigh both trade and climate considerations. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced Wednesday that he'd sign on to the resolution, marking another rebuke of the Biden     administration's energy agenda from the West Virginia Democrat. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) separately also said Wednesday they'd support the measure should it get a vote on the Senate floor. The House is poised to vote this week on the measure, which Biden has promised to veto should it reach his desk. The resolution would undo the president's 24-month pause on new import tariffs on solar cells and modules from Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam following the start of a Commerce Department probe that roiled the solar industry. Commerce released initial results in December that found companies were circumventing tariffs on Chinese solar equipment by routing them through the four nations. A final determination is expected next month. Lawmakers, led by Reps. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) and Bill Posey (R-Fla.) in the House and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in the Senate, introduced a resolution to rescind the rule enacting Biden's two-year moratorium. Manchin said Wednesday he would join the Senate resolution as a co-sponsor, Scott's office and a Manchin spokesperson confirmed. While the Congressional Review Act resolution has bipartisan support in the House, it so far had only Republican cosponsors in the Senate. ``The United States relies on foreign nations, like China, for far too many of our energy needs, and failing to enforce our existing trade laws undermines the goals of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to onshore our energy supply chains, including solar,'' Manchin said in a statement. ``I cannot fathom why the Administration and Congress would consider extending that reliance any longer and am proud to join this CRA to rescind the rule.'' Manchin on Wednesday also joined all 49 Republicans in support of a separate CRA resolution that would overturn EPA's recent rule limiting emissions of nitrogen oxides. Wyden, the chair of the Finance Committee, told reporters that he too would vote in favor of the solar resolution, should it come to a vote on the floor. ``I have told the administration that over the 10-year period, when I was writing the clean energy bill, it was always about manufacturing. Red, white and blue. Got to get the jobs here.'' he said. ``So I'm going to be supporting the manufacturing proposal.'' Brown shortly after released a statement that he was in favor of the resolution. ``My whole career--I don't care what presidents think about this--I've taken on presidents of both parties, starting with Clinton on [North American Free Trade Agreement]. And when they're wrong on trade, it costs American jobs, and this is the right decision,'' he said in an interview. The solar tariff resolution is expected to put Democrats in a tricky position, given supporters' argument that the resolution is meant to enforce U.S. trade laws and combat Chinese influence, while those opposing it argue it will undercut solar energy progress. Brown and Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania previously called on the president to terminate the two-year suspension, and Casey told POLITICO last month that he was inclined to support the resolution should it come to the floor. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who has previously voted to undo another Biden rule, told POLITICO he has not yet made a decision on the solar resolution. The resolution advanced out of the House Ways and Means Committee last week with Democratic support and is poised for a floor vote later this week in the House.