Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what’s going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!
ICYMI: MORE FROM MANCHIN: Sen. Joe Manchin isn’t letting go of this electric vehicle tax credit thing.
Manchin took to the Senate floor yesterday to denounce the Treasury Department’s work on the consumer clean vehicle tax credit, saying the department is “freewheeling” in how it implements the program by enforcing income limits and other conditions but not new battery manufacturing requirements.
In a series of notices and FAQs Treasury released in December, it specified that households with incomes of $300,000 and above, heads of household earning $225,000, and individuals earning $150,000+ may not claim the credit as provided in the Inflation Reduction Act.
It also listed which vehicle categories selling above specified MRSPs cannot qualify.
Treasury said in those same notices the IRA’s battery requirements would not take effect until it issues formal guidance, expected in March. An angry Manchin said the department is “cherrypicking” which provisions from the law to implement.
“That’s not what anybody in this body should ever tolerate, to let the agencies do exactly what they think they want to do to appease whoever they’re trying to appease versus what we pass and the intent of what we passed,” he said.
Manchin locked horns with the department when it pushed the finalization of guidance on the battery sourcing requirements until March, saying the intent was for the rules to come into force beginning on Jan. 1.
Other provisions of the law, including the removal of the manufacturer cap that had limited access to the EV credit, took effect at the first of the year.
The department has said it would explore finalizing an expanded definition of “free trade agreement” for the purposes of enforcing the battery component requirements, as well as that it could pursue new FTAs, things that could limit the negative impacts of the requirements to trade partners in Europe who want Treasury to go easy on them.
The conflict goes back: Manchin was unsparing in his criticism of the Biden administration’s earlier attempts to beef up electric vehicle subsidies in the Build Back Better package without conditions designed to strengthen U.S. industry and weaken China, having called it a “stupid” approach.
He brought up that old beef yesterday and said a world with China dominating the sector and its supply chain could end up subjecting people to some EV analog of the Arab oil embargo.
“I don’t intend to stand in line to wait for China to send a battery to make my car work,” he said.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Jeremy Beaman (@jeremywbeaman) and Breanne Deppisch (@breanne_dep). Email [email protected] or [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
MANCHIN JOINS REPUBLICANS IN CHALLENGE TO BIDEN ESG INVESTING RULE: Manchin also joined 48 Republican senators in signing on to a measure today to cancel a Biden administration rule allowing retirement plan managers to consider environmental and social issues when making investment decisions.
Critics argue the rule would unfairly politicize retirement funds for millions of people. The rule, announced by the Department of Labor in November, allows fiduciaries to weigh ESG factors when making investment decisions for retirement accounts rather than considering solely the rate of return.
The challenge is being led in the Senate by Mike Braun of Indiana. Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky is leading a House version of the legislation.
Opponents have argued that the plan penalizes fossil fuel companies and allows for ideologically fueled investments, at the expense of unknowing people.
Both versions of the resolution will be brought to the floor for a full vote under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to cancel rules put out by the administration through an expedited process.
Biden “is jeopardizing retirement savings for millions of Americans for a political agenda,” Braun said in a statement released alongside the resolution.
BREAKING — INTERIOR FINALIZES REVIEW OF WILLOW PROJECT: The Interior Department finalized its supplemental environmental impact statement for ConocoPhillips’ Willow project today, laying the groundwork for approval next month of what would be the nation’s largest oil development on public lands.
Interior identified a preferred alternative in the SEIS, which would provide for up to three drill sites in the vast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
ConocoPhillips’ proposed master development plan provides for up to five drill sites in the NPR-A.
The department stressed that its SEIS does not represent final approval and that it has “substantial concerns about the Willow project,” including its preferred alternative.
ENERGY DEPARTMENT PROPOSES NEW COOKING DEVICE EFFICIENCY RULE AFTER GAS STOVE FUROR: The Department of Energy is proposing new energy conservation standards for new household gas and electric cooking devices, some of which have never been subject to federal efficiency standards.
DOE’s proposed rule-making, published today, follows the recent political frenzy over the fate of gas stoves that was ignited after a federal regulator at the Consumer Product Safety Commission said his agency could ban them to reduce indoor air pollution.
The proposed rule-making would set new efficiency standards for both electric and gas cooking tops, preventing them from exceeding set levels of energy use per year.
The metrics used would not seek to limit stove usage when they are installed and in use, a department spokesperson emphasized.
“Instead, the metric will ensure cooktops are produced to meet a certain level of energy efficiency if the proposed rule is finalized,” the person said.
It would also impose regulations on electric ovens for the first time, providing that they may not utilize a linear power supply, or one that produces unregulated as well as regulated power. Gas ovens would be subjected to the same prohibition.
Energy savings from the rule would improve the security and reliability of the nation’s energy system, DOE’s rulemaking said, estimating that the standards could enable energy savings of 3.4% relative to a scenario without the standards.
WESTERN TANKERS RAMP UP RUSSIAN OIL SHIPMENTS UNDER PRICE CAP: The number of Western tankers carrying Russian crude more than doubled in January, according to new data, highlighting the efficacy of the oil price cap set by G7 countries in December.
Last month, EU-owned vessels handled more than 2 million tons of Urals crude, Russia’s primary oil export, from Baltic and Black Sea ports—amounting to over one-quarter of Russian exports from those ports, Reuters reports.
HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES NEW GOP LEADERS: The House Natural Resources Committee announced its new Republican subcommittee chairs today:
– Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona will chair the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee
– Rep. Cliff Bentz of Oregon will chair the Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries subcommittee
– Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming will chair the subcommittee on Tribal and Insular Affairs
– Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota will chair the subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
– Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin will chair the subcommittee on Federal Lands.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS TELL BIDEN TO BOOST DOMESTIC CRITICAL MINERALS: House Republicans called on the Biden administration to prioritize domestic critical mineral supply chains rather than rely on foreign countries such as China to meet the soaring demand driven by the Inflation Reduction Act and the broader shift toward clean energy.
Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, the head of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on energy, climate, and grid security, joined House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky and House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman of Arkansas in asking the administration to prioritize domestic minerals production rather than turning to foreign countries to build out supply chains.
“With projected mineral demand soaring, it’s imperative we prioritize addressing the self-imposed barriers to building domestic mineral supply chains before supporting mineral projects abroad,” the lawmakers said in a letter to the administration, first reported by the Washington Examiner.
“The Biden Administration has failed over and over to prioritize made-in-America energy — making us more dependent on our adversaries than ever before,” Pfluger told the Examiner. “Republicans will not allow the Administration to boost foreign sources of critical minerals instead of working to build our domestic energy capacity.” Read more on the lawmakers’ effort here.
The Rundown
Bloomberg Germany may become net power importer within years, study shows
Washington Post That dreamy haze in Monet’s impressionist paintings? Air pollution, study says.
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 1
9:30 a.m. 2167 Rayburn. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on supply chain challenges facing the U.S. transportation sector as it seeks to accelerate investments in EV battery production, manufacturing, and build out charging infrastructure. Learn more here.
