PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE RELATING TO "ENDANGERED AND THREATENED...
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2023-5-3

I rise today to talk about the solar tariff CRA, which, unfortunately, is misguided and is going to have a devastating impact on States like Nevada, as you well know. prgtoken H.J. Res. 39 to end the pause on solar tariffs is really a misguided effort that will not only cripple our Nation's solar industry but kill thousands of American jobs. prgtoken Our country is in a position to lead the rest of the world in clean energy production, including solar development. States like Nevada are building up our solar capabilities and creating thousands of new jobs that support working families. prgtoken Talk to the unions in my State, and you will hear how important solar is for Nevadans. I spent some time recently with IBEW at the Gemini Solar Project, which our Presiding Officer knows well. It is one of the new solar arrays in southern Nevada. I heard directly from them about how these are good-paying jobs for our workers, which is why so many unions, including the carpenters, the laborers, and operating engineers, oppose this resolution. prgtoken This effort to reinstate solar tariffs would devastate our operations; it would hurt working families; and it would make it even more difficult to become energy independent in this country. prgtoken Just a few weeks ago, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. She told me that she gets it; that we need a transition period to be able to build up our solar supply in the United States. prgtoken It is happening thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, but we are just getting started. Right now, the United States only has capacity to manufacture a small fraction of our domestic solar demand. Now, of course, we need to keep building our domestic manufacturing of solar. We all agree. And we need to continue that process, but we shouldn't punish our workers by pretending that infrastructure already exists when we know it doesn't. That means we need to expand our supply of solar panels and cells. prgtoken Just having this vote this afternoon will have a chilling effect on the solar industry--the solar energy industry. Listen, when the threat of these tariffs was originally looming--just the threat of them back then--75 percent of domestic solar projects experienced cancelations or delays because of that threat, including in Nevada. And I heard it. The Presiding Officer heard it. We heard it from our workers. We heard it from the projects in the pipeline. That is a sign of what is to come if this misguided effort is successful. prgtoken Nevada has the No. 1 solar economy in the country, which has created nearly 9,000 good-paying jobs, many of them union jobs. But if we lift the pause on our solar tariffs, those jobs will be in danger. And I won't stand for it. I know the Presiding Officer won't stand for it. prgtoken And it is not just in Nevada. It is not just blue States or red States. These tariffs would risk the