The Committee on Ways and Means yesterday passed its budget reconciliation package, a broad piece of legislation that includes several tax credits supporting the deployment of clean energy and the growth of the nation’s clean technology manufacturing sector and supply chains. Critically, the bill has language to ensure these investments translate into good jobs and domestic manufacturing. The bill also includes:

• An expanded 30D consumer tax credit for Electric Vehicles (EVs) that provides an up to $12,500 credit for vehicles assembled in the U.S., with at least 50% domestic content, and with a collective bargaining agreement that protects labor standards and workers’ rights;
• Significant funding for the 48C Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit for clean technology manufacturing; and
• Extensions of existing clean energy tax credits and the addition of new clean energy tax credits incentivizing clean energy deployment across the economy—these credits are coupled with high-road labor and domestic content provisions.

In response to the passage of the package, the BlueGreen Alliance released the following statement from Executive Director Jason Walsh:

“We applaud the inclusion of a range of clean energy incentives and critical labor and domestic content requirements in this package. These historic investments will help ensure we deploy clean energy at the scale necessary to meet the climate crisis, while also ensuring these investments translate into good, union jobs across the economy and in the domestic manufacturing supply chain.

“At the same time, deployment is only one piece of the puzzle. As our nation transitions to a new, cleaner economy, it is critical that these deployment tax credits are coupled with strong, smart clean technology manufacturing tax credits.

“The 48C tax credit included in the package is an encouraging down payment toward this goal, and will help build up—and create jobs in—our clean technology manufacturing sector and bolster our domestic supply chains. However, room for improvement remains, especially in terms of the major support needed to onshore and establish U.S. competitiveness in key battery, solar, and offshore wind supply chains. It is also vitally important that this credit is expanded to include efforts to drive down industrial emissions.

“Additionally, we are disappointed with the lack of funding to support workers and communities impacted by the transition.

“We welcome the inclusion of strong domestic manufacturing and labor provisions in the 30D consumer tax credit for electric vehicles, which will provide a strong incentive for automakers to do right by the workers building the clean vehicles of the future.

“We look forward to continuing to work with leaders in Congress to strengthen this package in the reconciliation process.”