If West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin gets his wish, the Biden administration’s plan for $7,500 EV tax credits will be put on pause.
It was a month ago when the Democrat, who’s been at odds with President Biden, urged the Treasury Department to delay the implementation of the tax credits. Then this week, the former chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee introduced his American Vehicle Security Act.
The Act directs the Treasury Department to implement the 30D new consumer vehicle tax credits for vehicles according to the law by requiring compliance with battery and battery material sourcing requirements a of Jan. 1, 2023.
“It is unacceptable that the U.S. Treasury has failed to issue updated guidance for the 30D electric vehicle tax credits and continues to make the full $7,500 credits available without meeting all of the clear requirements included in the Inflation Reduction Act,” stated Manchin in announcing his bill.
He said the Treasury Department failed to meet the statutory deadline of Dec. 31, 2022 to release guidance for the 30D credit, and as a result “created an opportunity to circumvent stringent supply chain requirements included in the IRA.
“The IRA is first-and-foremost an energy security bill, and the EV tax credits were designed to grow domestic manufacturing and reduce our reliance on foreign supply chains for the critical minerals needed to produce EV batteries,” added the senator.
“We cannot continue down this path. I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating that we can’t have national security without energy security and energy independence. The IRA and the EV tax credits must be implemented according to the Congressional intent to ensure the United States, as the superpower of the world, is not beholden to countries that don’t share our values,”said Chairman Manchin.
Read the full text of the legislation here.