[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]




DISAPPROVING THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE RELATING 
    TO ``PROCEDURES COVERING SUSPENSION OF LIQUIDATION, DUTIES AND 
   ESTIMATED DUTIES IN ACCORD WITH PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION 10414''

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 327, 
I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 39) disapproving the rule 
submitted by the Department of Commerce relating to ``Procedures 
Covering Suspension of Liquidation, Duties and Estimated Duties in 
Accord With Presidential Proclamation 10414'', and ask for its 
immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 327, the joint 
resolution is considered read.
  The text of the joint resolution is as follows:

                              H.J. Res. 39

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress 
     disapproves the rule submitted by the Department of Commerce 
     relating to ``Procedures Covering Suspension of Liquidation, 
     Duties and Estimated Duties in Accord With Presidential 
     Proclamation 10414'' (87 Fed. Reg. 56868), and such rule 
     shall have no force or effect.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The joint resolution shall be debatable for 
1 hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective 
designees. The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman 
from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and submit extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today, we take a bipartisan step toward holding China 
accountable for its trade abuses.
  These trade abuses are well known to all of us in this Chamber. Most 
recently, this past December, President Biden's Department of Commerce 
found that China is circumventing tariffs on imports into the U.S. by 
shipping solar products through, not one country, not two countries, 
not even three countries, but in fact, four countries in Southeast 
Asia.
  These tariffs were put in place by President Obama since 2012 to 
provide a level playing field for American manufacturers who were 
facing unfair competition in the U.S. market from solar products that 
China was subsidizing and selling at unfairly low prices. By 
circumventing these tariffs by shipping its products through Cambodia, 
Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, China has set up a solar panel export 
scheme that cheats American workers and consumers.
  So we know there is wrongdoing going on. We know China is cheating. 
That is precisely why Members from both parties were stunned and 
disappointed when the White House made the misguided decision to halt 
for 2 years additional tariffs on Chinese solar products being sent 
through these four countries.
  At a time when China has a dominant position in solar production, 
despite longstanding American innovation in this sector, should we 
really be telling the world that there will be less accountability for 
unfair trade practices?
  The answer is not just no. Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely no.
  But the President's proclamation to halt any new countervailing 
duties and tariffs does just that. What is worse, it establishes a 
lesser standard of accountability for China than the rest of the world.
  The legislation before us today, H.J. Res. 39, Congressional Review 
Act legislation on solar tariffs, will stop President Biden's 
proclamation that has given a free pass for 2 years to unfair solar 
imports from China that circumvent our trade laws.
  The United States must maintain crucial protections for American 
workers and our economy as a whole. We cannot surrender to China or any 
other country and put American workers at a disadvantage.
  This resolution has bipartisan support. I thank Representative Posey 
for leading this initiative, and Committee on Ways and Means members  
Dan Kildee of Michigan, Greg Murphy of North Carolina, Bill Pascrell of 
New Jersey, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, and Claudia Tenney of New 
York. The fact that Democrats and Republicans on our committee are 
original cosponsors of this resolution shows just how bipartisan the 
issue is.
  We have to confront the Chinese Communist Party's bad behavior. We 
have to hold it accountable.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge votes in favor of this legislation, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in opposition to this resolution.
  My Republican friends continue to be in a state of denial of the 
climate crisis, the real and urgent sense that we have now.
  Last month, in Houston, I had an opportunity to meet with two dozen 
leaders of the renewable energy sector. They weren't concerned about 
rolling back the things that we have done. They want to accelerate it.
  The chairman and my Republican colleagues have spoken at length about 
the importance of increasing accountability for China's unfair trade 
practices and maintaining protections for American workers.
  It is interesting, though, that these same individuals voted against 
Democratic provisions to strengthen our antidumping and circumvention 
laws and reauthorize the Trade Adjustment Assistance in the America 
COMPETES Act.
  They all voted against the Inflation Reduction Act's provision to 
incentivize clean energy domestic manufacturing. In fact, 2 days ago, 
they voted to repeal these provisions.
  This resolution would undermine America's hard-fought wins in the 
Inflation Reduction Act.

  There are problems. No doubt, the Chinese are likely cheating.

[[Page H2094]]

  President Biden struck the right balance by instituting a temporary 
freeze on these solar tariffs. This approach is how we fix the long-
term problem.
  Importantly, he has said that he does not intend to extend the freeze 
beyond June 2024 and that he will veto this resolution if it gets to 
his desk.
  My friends on the other side of the aisle are concerned about working 
men and women. I would point out that the President's position is 
consistent with the leaders in organized labor from IBEW, from LIUNA, 
the Carpenters, and the Operating Engineers, people who represent these 
hardworking Americans, as well as organizations in the environmental 
community and the National Taxpayers Union.
  This is a 2-year bridge that gives the solar industry the time needed 
to reorient supply chains away from China and produce panels 
domestically. We can't do that overnight, but we are committed to 
making that change.
  For too long, the United States has lacked a cohesive renewable 
energy manufacturing policy. As a result, we have outsourced far too 
much of our production.
  In 2021, there were only 7 gigawatts of domestic manufacturing 
capacity. That is the reality. But the Inflation Reduction Act marks a 
significant departure from those flawed policies of the past. This 
legislation bakes in domestic content bonuses in clean energy credits 
to incentivize the industry to onshore production. But that takes time. 
It also revives the advanced manufacturing credit and creates a new 
manufacturing production tax credit.
  The Inflation Reduction Act has already led to the announcement of 
more than 45 gigawatts of domestic solar manufacturing capacity. Again, 
my Republican colleagues voted to repeal all of those incentives just 2 
days ago.
  Ending the President's temporary initiative here would immediately 
institute high, retroactive tariffs in the hundreds of percent that 
would hurt solar development, increase energy costs, and lead to a 
supply reduction at exactly the moment when the climate crisis means 
that we need to ramp it up.
  Many of us in Congress worked for years to achieve the policy 
victories contained in the Inflation Reduction Act.
  The clean energy tax credits are projected to reduce carbon emissions 
40 percent by 2030, giving us a legitimate chance to meet the goals 
contained in the Paris climate agreement. We should resist these 
efforts to undermine this hard-won victory for America.
  I would encourage my colleagues to take a hard look at the 
legislation and then reject it when it comes before us for a vote.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I also want to highlight another member of the House 
Committee on Ways and Means that is a cosponsor and a supporter of this 
resolution, Ms. Terri Sewell from Alabama.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Auxin Solar 
founder and CEO thanking Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans for 
bringing this resolution to the House floor. Auxin is a small 
California company with 37 full-time employees that filed a petition 
last year asking the Department of Commerce to investigate whether 
Chinese firms were circumventing existing tariffs. Auxin strongly 
supports this resolution so that the company and its workers can get 
relief from unfair Chinese competition and end what it calls the get-
out-of-jail-free card that President Biden gave to duty evaders.

                                                  Auxin Solar,

                                     San Jose, CA, April 27, 2023.
     Hon. Kevin McCarthy,
     Speaker, House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker: I'm writing to you on behalf of myself, 
     my business partner Sherry Tai, the 37 full-time employees of 
     Auxin Solar, and our families to thank you for bringing to 
     the floor for a vote H.J. Res.39, the Congressional Review 
     Act resolution.
       By just bringing this resolution to the floor for a vote, 
     you are sending a strong signal that the United States 
     Congress will stand up against the Chinese Communist Party 
     and their unfair trade practices on behalf of American 
     manufacturers and our workers. More importantly, when we see 
     Congress vote on this resolution, you will be giving me and 
     Sherry the strength to continue our fight against unfairly 
     traded solar imports and the confidence to continue to 
     reinvest our personal finances into making Auxin Solar a 
     leader in U.S. solar manufacturing.
       Sherry and I co-founded Auxin Solar in 2008 and, since that 
     time, we have been providing high-paying jobs to our 
     employees in Silicon Valley, California. In 2008, we 
     forecasted that solar cells and solar modules would 
     eventually become commodity products that could compete on a 
     cost basis with traditional energy sources. That has come 
     true. Solar deployment is reaching year-over-year all-time 
     highs because of the cost parity with traditional energy 
     sources. With our low overhead, competitive costs, and high 
     employee retention rates, we should have been printing money 
     in a growing demand environment. But what we didn't forecast 
     when we started Auxin Solar was the anticompetitive behavior 
     of China and the success that China would have in dominating 
     the solar supply chain.
       In the early 2010s, China was so far behind the United 
     States in solar technology and know-how. To catch up, CCP 
     agents stole our intellectual property. Then the CCP used 
     draconian duties to effectively prohibit U.S. polysilicon 
     companies from selling into the Chinese market. When the U.S. 
     imposed duties to offset predatory pricing in solar, China 
     used its industrial policies to assist major Chinese CCP-
     connected solar companies in their move out of China to 
     circumvent U.S. trade laws. It took just ten years but now, 
     China dominates the entire solar supply chain. They use 
     forced labor practices to mine polysilicon. They use coal-
     fired energy to power ingot and wafer-making. And they use 
     Southeast Asia as screw-driver operations to circumvent trade 
     laws.
       In the face of predatory Chinese pricing in the United 
     States, and when our domestic competitors closed, Auxin 
     continued to operate. Sadly, what we've learned in the last 
     five years is that the trade remedy laws are not designed for 
     medium-sized enterprises like Auxin. Take for example what 
     happened during the initial solar safeguard. Although demand 
     continued to grow with duties in place in 2018, major energy 
     companies complained and lobbied to attain an exclusion for 
     bifacial panels. Bifacial panels are solar modules that 
     generate electricity using both sides of the panel. Since 
     2016--well before the safeguard even started--Auxin Solar was 
     one of the only companies to produce bifacial panels in 
     America. Our bifacial panels were used in major utility-scale 
     projects in Lumberton, New Jersey and by Georgia Power at the 
     Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. They were also 
     used in Columbus, Ohio on the largest ever commercial rooftop 
     solar array ever installed. Since an exclusion for bifacial 
     panels was granted, bifacial panel pricing premiums collapsed 
     and bifacials quickly became the majority of imports. In 
     fact, just to avoid duties, companies will go so far as to 
     put bifacial panels on residential homes even though only one 
     side of the panel is used. This is done simply to avoid 
     duties and has the direct result of undermining Auxin's 
     business.
       The same thing happened again when Auxin tried to stand up 
     and combat the surge in panels from Southeast Asia, which 
     consist almost entirely of Chinese content. Had these exact 
     same panels come directly from China, they would have been 
     subject to duties put in place by the U.S. International 
     Trade Commission. Although others in the domestic industry 
     wanted this circumvention loophole closed, we were the only 
     ones willing to publicly put our name on a filing. We were 
     immediately subjected to online harassment, cyber intrusion, 
     and attempted physical break-ins to our facility. Our stellar 
     Google reviews, which we use to pitch to potential employees, 
     became single star reviews accompanied by hateful language. A 
     website called ``ExposeAuxin.com'' was created to spread lies 
     and disinformation about us.
       Against it all, we continued to have faith that the 
     Commerce Department's quasi-judicial process would work to 
     instill price discipline in the market and close the duty 
     evasion loophole. But President Biden mistakenly intervened 
     in our circumvention case because of a loud misinformation 
     campaign lead by Chinese special interests. The resulting 
     tariff-free holiday for all imports from Southeast Asia is 
     bad policy because it acts as a ``get out of jail free'' card 
     to duty evaders and sends a signal to law-abiding importers 
     that it doesn't pay to follow the law and pay a fair price 
     for a solar panel.
       Today at Auxin Solar, we're operating at a fraction of our 
     capacity utilization because of the concerted effort to 
     silence us and scare us into withdrawing our trade fight. Our 
     ability to raise capital, hire new employees for expansion, 
     and secure new sales opportunities continue to be hampered. 
     Sherry and I are first generation immigrants. We are a 
     minority- and woman-owned medium sized business. When 
     politicians talk about how Washington should work better for 
     middleclass Americans, the ``tariff holiday'' does not do 
     that. Instead, it provides a windfall for Wall Street and 
     doesn't give a fighting chance to American workers to compete 
     against Chinese solar.
       On broad policy, we must counteract the Chinese dominance 
     of the solar supply chain for our energy security. We should 
     be asking ourselves whether we want the Chinese Communist 
     Party to control our electricity grid. We should be asking 
     ourselves if the Chinese Communist Party will stifle our 
     ability to meet our carbon-neutral goals by imposing

[[Page H2095]]

     export restraints on key technology or halting sales of solar 
     to the U.S. And we should be asking if we are okay with 
     meeting our carbon objectives on the back of forced labor, 
     from massive expansions in coal-fired power plants, and from 
     intellectual property theft. I've been in the solar business 
     for 15 years and solar deployment is good for business. But 
     there are bigger issues here than quarterly profits and 
     investor returns. This is why I strongly support your 
     creation of the bipartisan Select Committee on the Chinese 
     Communist Party, which should continue to shed light on these 
     issues for the American people to understand.
       At Auxin Solar we've withstood Chinese predatory behavior 
     for 15 years. I refuse to let the Chinese prevail and put 
     Auxin Solar out of business. Right now we're in the midst of 
     a major capacity expansion at Auxin Solar funded by me, 
     Sherry, and our families. Once we have our expansion online, 
     we would be pleased to welcome you to visit so that we can 
     thank you in person for bringing H.J. Res. 39 to the floor 
     for an up-or-down vote.
           Sincerely,
                                                Mamun Rashid, CEO.

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).
  Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.J. Res. 39.
  We are here today because the Biden administration is hell-bent on 
making the United States energy dependent upon China. They are hell-
bent on signing this Nation's death warrant. In pursuit of everything 
green, the Biden administration has given a free pass for Chinese solar 
imports to flow into this country by all means, using an emergency 
proclamation.
  The last time a President used an emergency proclamation was for 
lumber in 1946 when American World War II veterans were returning home 
and needed homes.
  Today, Mr. Biden, or whoever is running the White House, is using it 
to waive tariffs on Chinese solar panels coming through Cambodia, 
Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam for 2 years.
  Helping war heroes is an emergency, but speeding up total dependence 
on our greatest adversary is another. It is an absolute abuse of 
executive power. It is helping our greatest adversary take control of 
this country.
  Why on God's green Earth are we handing this Nation's keys to the 
nation of China?
  Chinese producers and the CCP are taking advantage of this system to 
circumnavigate the tariffs. They are cheating. Don't just take my word. 
Take the President's own Department of Commerce who determined that 
this would happen, even before President Biden did his emergency 
proclamation.
  This is simply un-American and a crystal clear abuse of emergency 
power by this American President.
  We need to prioritize American manufacturing, not Chinese 
manufacturing. We need to produce the energy here in the United States, 
not handing this to China, our greatest adversary.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, H.J. Res. 39.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a statement from 
the carpenters union and operating engineers union, who oppose 
legislation that eliminates thousands of jobs; the International 
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; and LIUNA.
     IUOE Contact: Jeff Soth
     UBC Contact: Jen McKernan

   Carpenters and Operating Engineers Unions Oppose Legislation That 
                      Eliminates Thousands of Jobs

       Washington, DC.--The following statement was issued today 
     by James T. Callahan, General President of the International 
     Union of Operating Engineers, and Douglas J. McCarron, 
     General President of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and 
     Joiners of America, regarding their unions' opposition to 
     legislation that will eliminate thousands of American jobs:
       Last year, the Department of Commerce opened a 
     circumvention inquiry, alleging that four Southeast Asian 
     countries were circumventing tariffs and duties on solar 
     cells and modules from the People's Republic of China. The 
     inquiry generated massive uncertainty in the domestic solar 
     market by suggesting possible retroactive tariffs as high as 
     250 percent. This threat resulted in a drop of 20 percent 
     fewer solar construction and installation jobs across the 
     United States.
       President Biden took action to preserve these jobs, issuing 
     Emergency Proclamation 10414 to prevent tariffs on any solar 
     module and cell imports from the four countries until June 
     2024. House Joint Resolution 39 will repeal the President's 
     Proclamation and eliminate thousands of jobs in the American 
     solar industry.
       ``Repealing President Biden's Proclamation will result in 
     retroactive duties and tariffs that would jeopardize 30,000 
     construction and 4,000 manufacturing jobs,'' said James T. 
     Callahan, General President of the International Union of 
     Operating Engineers. ``We are not prepared to stand by and 
     let some partisan dispute eliminate Operating Engineers' jobs 
     and slow the deployment of clean energy.''
       ``The President's Proclamation saves Carpenters' jobs and 
     smooths the development of the domestic solar manufacturing 
     industry. Today, we're seeing the American manufacturing 
     sector respond to incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act 
     and develop homegrown solar modules,'' said Carpenters Union 
     General President Douglas J. McCarron. ``Now is not the time 
     to disrupt the solar industry and layoff thousands of union 
     workers just as we're getting a foothold in the burgeoning 
     solar business.''
       The International Union of Operating Engineers and United 
     Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners urge Congress and 
     members of the Ways and Means Committee to vote against House 
     Joint Resolution 39, which will repeal the administration's 
     Proclamation and eliminate thousands of union jobs, slow the 
     deployment of renewable energy, and generate unnecessary 
     greenhouse gases.
                                  ____

                                         International Brotherhood


                                        of Electrical Workers,

                                   Washington, DC, April 26, 2023.
     To: All Members of the United States House of 
         Representatives.
     Re House Joint Resolution 39.

       Dear U.S. Representative: On behalf of the 775,000 active 
     members and retirees of the International Brotherhood of 
     Electrical Workers (IBEW), I write to share the IBEW's 
     opposition to H.J. Res. 39, the joint resolution of 
     disapproval regarding President Biden's two-year suspension 
     of certain tariffs on solar imports that is expected to soon 
     come before the committee for consideration.
       The IBEW represents tens of thousands of workers who make 
     their living installing and maintaining solar generation. 
     This includes large, utility-scale solar developments that 
     are currently providing significant amounts of emission-free 
     power to schools, hospitals, and homes in the United States. 
     The IBEW also represents over 30,000 workers in the 
     manufacturing sector, making the supply chains that move the 
     economy. IBEW members have been intimately involved in the 
     development and deployment of solar power in the United 
     States since its infancy.
       H.J. Res. 39 would nullify Proclamation 10414, a carefully 
     crafted compromise to give the Department of Commerce 
     authority to provide a two-year pause, from June 6, 2022, to 
     June 6, 2024, on potential anti-circumvention duties on solar 
     panels being imported from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and 
     Cambodia. The Biden Administration made this compromise in 
     order to provide market certainty to allow U.S. companies to 
     continue deploying solar panels while providing a bridge to 
     strengthening the domestic U.S. solar polysilicon 
     photovoltaic supply chain.
       For far too long, China has participated in unfair trade 
     practices and human rights violations that deeply undercut 
     the U.S. solar manufacturing industry. The U.S. Congress 
     responded by writing key provisions in the Inflation 
     Reduction Act, including the 45X Advanced Manufacturing 
     Production Credit and 48C Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit, 
     which are providing the necessary market signals to solar 
     manufacturers to invest in America. These provisions, along 
     with the two-year bridge created under Proclamation 10414, 
     are making a real difference today and will create tens of 
     thousands of union jobs and help spur the kind of domestic 
     production of PV solar wafers, cells, and panels needed to 
     lessen America's reliance on supply chains from abroad.
       Yet even the most significant investments cannot recreate 
     an industry overnight. With one year left in the Biden 
     administration's two-year pause on certain solar tariffs, the 
     IBEW has already seen the Inflation Reduction Act's benefits, 
     including more than 45 gigawatts in announced solar 
     manufacturing capacity since the law's passage. H.J. Res. 39 
     is a backward-looking resolution looking to reopen a settled 
     matter rather than create solutions. The IBEW has and will 
     continue to support congressional action that will lower 
     energy costs, strengthen the power grid, and create good-
     paying union jobs. Moreover, at this time, IBEW does not 
     support an extension of the two-year pause on imposing anti-
     circumvention duties on Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and 
     Cambodia.
       On behalf of the IBEW, I urge you to oppose H.J. Res. 39 
     when it is considered before the House. Please contact 
     Government Affairs Department Director Danielle Eckert if you 
     have any questions.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                Kenneth W. Cooper,
     International President.
                                  ____



                                                        LiUNA,

                                   Washington, DC, April 19, 2023.
     Hon. Jason Smith,
     Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, 
         DC.
     Hon. Richard Neal,
     Ranking Member, U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Neal: On behalf of 
     the 500,000 members of the Laborers' International Union of 
     North America (LIUNA), I write in opposition to the 
     Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution regarding solar 
     panel manufacturing. This resolution will have a harmful

[[Page H2096]]

     and disruptive impact on our members' jobs within the solar 
     industry.
       Our nation's energy industry directly employs tens of 
     thousands of LIUNA members across the country. These jobs 
     span across all sectors of energy production including, 
     natural gas, nuclear, hydro, and renewables. By way of the 
     Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), The Biden Administration has 
     brought good-paying union construction jobs into the 
     renewable industry. Because of this, our members have seen a 
     significant and rapid growth within the renewables sector, in 
     particular the solar industry. These jobs are finally good 
     jobs, with family-supporting wages and benefits.
       Repealing President Biden's moratorium, however, will bring 
     several solar construction sites to a halt, leaving our 
     members without a paycheck. We recognize that the Department 
     of Commerce's investigation found some solar panel producers 
     committing trade violations. Of course, in time, this will 
     need to be addressed.
       This CRA resolution comes at a time when our nation is 
     looking to bolster its wind and solar industry, steering away 
     from more harmful energy sources. Our union has never seen 
     this much solar construction work, and future construction 
     work already on the books, within the renewable energy 
     industry, and it is now all at risk if the CRA is passed.
       I urge you to oppose the Congressional Review Act being 
     marked up today in committee.
       With kind regards, I am,
           Sincerely yours,
                                                 Terry O'Sullivan,
                                                General President.

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Doggett).
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, ``Here Comes the Sun.'' It is more than a 
great tune. It is about a great renewable future, but our Republican 
colleagues refuse to see through the dark smoke of fossil fuels and 
fossilized thinking. They just blindly follow Trump at every 
opportunity to try to reduce progress on addressing the very real 
climate crisis.
  President Biden is both enforcing our trade laws and maintaining our 
commitment for more solar power by giving American companies a 
reasonable time to adjust their supply chains away from China and 
without an unreasonable disruption of installing more solar panels all 
across this country.

                              {time}  0930

  This temporary tariff pause ends in only about a year. That is just 
not soon enough for those who are determined to disrupt our move to a 
clean energy future. I must say, this is a truly anti-business move 
because it penalizes companies that have relied in good faith on the 
President's order. It also, as my colleague from Oregon has just shown, 
will kill a number of good-paying union jobs across this country.
  Despite ice mass in Greenland and Antarctica melting at an average of 
about 420 billion tons every year, already raising sea levels in the 
Gulf of Mexico, Republican opposition in fighting climate change 
remains frozen in the past.
  Trading fossil fuel and fossil power for the power of the Sun by 
getting as many solar panels as soon as possible is one way that more 
and more American families and American businesses can make their 
contribution to their own lower energy bills. It can help us respond to 
the climate crisis that is already engulfing America with wildfires and 
intensified weather, like tornadoes and floods and droughts in 
different places, and, of course, hotter and hotter and hotter 
temperatures.
  At this dawn of a new clean energy era, now is not the time to 
eclipse solar. In Texas, we are already number two in the country among 
the States for solar capacity, creating thousands of new jobs and 
providing clean energy and lower energy bills to thousands of families. 
Austinites know that solar power saves them on their energy bills and 
saves them when storms disrupt the grid.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will see the light and see the 
power of solar and join us in voting ``no'' on this misguided proposal.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Posey), the original sponsor of this 
resolution.
  Mr. POSEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for yielding.
  Today, we are considering a historic bipartisan resolution to support 
American solar manufacturers and workers and hold the Chinese Communist 
Party accountable for dodging our trade laws.
  H.J. Res. 39 will undo a Biden administration's rule that allowed 
Chinese solar manufacturers who use forced labor to dodge American 
trade laws and dump inferior product on the United States.
  They are doing this by slapping a new label on their products and 
exporting them to third-party countries like Cambodia, Malaysia, 
Thailand, and Vietnam.
  The Department of Commerce, in a preliminary investigation, concluded 
that the Chinese solar companies are, in fact, sending their products 
through these four southeast Asian countries to avoid paying a higher 
tariff.
  If left in place, this rule will benefit the Chinese Communist Party. 
Make no mistake about that. They are not our friends; they are an 
enemy. This will be at the detriment of American companies and workers.
  Unfortunately, some believe we must tolerate China's bad decisions 
and remain dependent on adversarial nations to create renewable energy. 
That is a false choice, so says the AFL-CIO.
  The United States can and should focus its resources into developing 
our own solar products and boosting American competitiveness around the 
world, rather than supporting China's quest to dominate the market and 
control energy supply.
  This bipartisan resolution is a critical step to hold the Chinese 
Communist Party accountable for everything from their human rights 
abuses to their unfair trade practices, all the while protecting 
American solar manufacturers and workers.
  Why not be an exporter of great American products rather than an 
importer of cheap Chinese products?
  For those who say they are clean energy advocates, I would like to 
remind them that their Chinese solar panels are built without any 
environmental protection or controls whatsoever. American solar panels 
have environmental protection requirements.
  Most are aware, and I hope everyone in this Chamber is for sure 
aware, that through economic dominance, China hopes to achieve military 
superiority. We need to stop helping China do that.
  How good is this resolution?
  As if the facts are not clear enough already, keep this in mind: This 
is a policy that President Obama and President Trump both agreed on. I 
know that is hard to believe, but you heard that right. It is a policy 
that President Obama and President Trump both agreed on.
  Additionally, we shouldn't sacrifice the Uyghur people at the altar 
of convenience.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting America and 
H.J. Res. 39.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleagues' newfound 
concern for the environment and for the industry.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record correspondence from the solar 
industry in the United States opposing their resolution and supporting 
our position.

     Re: Please Oppose Retroactive Duties and Protect American 
         Clean Energy Jobs and Investment With a ``No'' Vote on 
         the Auxin CRA (H.J. Res. 39/S.J. Res. 15).

       We are writing to respectfully ask that you oppose H.J. 
     Res. 39/S.J. Res. 15. Enactment of this resolution would 
     impose over $1 billion in retroactive duty liability, 
     increase energy costs for consumers, cost thousands of 
     American jobs, and hamstring efforts to reduce greenhouse gas 
     emissions.
       Last year, a single company filed anti-circumvention 
     petitions with the Department of Commerce (Commerce). The 
     threat of duties ranging from 50 percent-250 percent on solar 
     panels and cells from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and 
     Cambodia called for in the petitions abruptly froze solar 
     supply chains. A significant number of domestic solar 
     projects experienced cancellations or delays as a result.
       To address this disruption, after Commerce accepted the 
     petitions and initiated a set of investigations, President 
     Biden issued an emergency declaration that included a 
     temporary 2-year pause on potential duties arising from the 
     investigations. This pause allowed planned solar projects to 
     move forward while the investigations proceeded.
       American stakeholders subsequently relied on Commerce's 
     regulations to make significant business and economic 
     decisions. Nullifying Commerce's rulemaking as provided for 
     in H.J. Res. 39/S.J. Res. 15 would penalize companies, acting 
     in accordance with the law, by imposing large (up to 254 
     percent), unanticipated retroactive duty liability for these 
     stakeholders--back to April 1, 2022. Going back on this 
     federal commitment would create a chilling effect on American 
     business, setting a terrible precedent that undermines 
     America's competitiveness in the global marketplace.

[[Page H2097]]

       Passing H.J. Res. 39/S.J. Res. 15 would also stall or 
     cancel planned solar projects, eliminate 30,000 jobs, 
     including 4,000 manufacturing jobs, and $4.2 billion of 
     investment in domestic solar projects. 4GW of planned solar 
     projects representing roughly 14 percent of the industry's 
     anticipated deployment in 2023 would be cancelled. This in 
     turn would increase CO2 emissions by 24 million 
     metric tons.
       American businesses need certainty and a bridge to domestic 
     manufacturing. Right now, only about one-third of U.S. demand 
     for solar panels (including both crystalline silicon and thin 
     film photovoltaic panels) can be met with domestic 
     production, and domestic manufacturers are sold out for the 
     next 2-3 years. It is our preference to source solar panels 
     domestically, and we are heartened by the rapid expansion of 
     domestic solar manufacturing that is currently occurring. 
     However, ramping up this production capacity across the solar 
     supply chain will take time, and the temporary 2-year duty 
     pause provides a necessary bridge to the point where domestic 
     production capacity is more capable of meeting demand.
       For these reasons, and to avoid needless disruption in the 
     solar marketplace, we respectfully ask that you oppose H.J. 
     Res. 39/S.J. Res. 15. Thank you in advance for your 
     consideration.
           Sincerely,
       Solar Energy Industries Association; American Clean Power; 
     American Council on Renewable Energy; Edison Electric 
     Institute; E2; Silicon Valley Leadership Group; Clean Energy 
     Buyers Association; Advanced Energy United; Coalition for 
     Community Solar Access.
                                  ____

                                           Solar Energy Industries


                                                  Association,

                                   Washington, DC, April 17, 2023.
     Hon. Jason Smith,
     Chairman, House Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Richard Neal,
     Ranking Democratic Member, House Committee on Ways and Means, 
         Washington, DC.
     Re H.J. Res. 39, a resolution disapproving the rule submitted 
         by the Department of Commerce relating to ``Procedures 
         Covering Suspension of Liquidation, Duties and Estimated 
         Duties in Accord With Presidential Proclamation 10414.''

       Dear Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Neal: I am writing 
     to you on behalf of the Solar Energy Industries Association 
     (SEIA), the national trade association for the U.S. solar 
     industry. On behalf of the 250,000 American workers employed 
     by the solar industry, I wanted to share our perspective in 
     advance of the Ways and Means Committee's consideration of 
     H.J. Res. 39.
       Barring a major departure from the new regime governing 
     circumvention outlined in Commerce's preliminary 
     determination on December 8, 2022, SEIA does not plan to 
     advocate for an extension of the 2-year duty pause beyond its 
     current expiration on June 6, 2024. However, nullifying the 
     Department of Commerce (Commerce) rulemaking that provided 
     the 2-year duty pause would punish businesses who acted in 
     good faith and complied with existing law with over $1 
     billion in retroactive duties and undercut the rapidly 
     accelerating expansion of domestic solar manufacturing 
     capacity that will onshore the industry's supply chains over 
     the next few years.


                               Background

       On February 8, 2022, a single company filed anti-
     circumvention petitions with Commerce that caused havoc in 
     the U.S. solar industry. The threat of retroactive duties 
     ranging from 50-250 percent on solar panels and cells from 
     Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia called for in the 
     petitions abruptly froze the industry's supply chains. 
     Industry surveys indicated that 75 percent of domestic solar 
     projects experienced cancellations or delays as a result. 
     This significantly contributed to the drop in solar 
     deployment in 2022 compared to the previous year.
       To address this issue and provide time for additional 
     domestic solar production to come online, President Biden 
     issued Proclamation 10414 on June 6, 2022, declaring an 
     emergency and authorization for temporary extensions of time 
     and duty-free importation of solar cells and modules from 
     Southeast Asia. The proclamation gave Commerce authority to 
     issue regulations providing a 2-year pause from June 6, 2022, 
     through June 6, 2024, on potential duties arising from these 
     petitions while the investigations proceeded. Commerce posted 
     the regulations in the Federal Register on September 16, 
     2022.


                         Impact of H.J. Res. 39

       H.J. Res. 39 would nullify the Commerce rulemaking that 
     domestic stakeholders relied upon to make significant 
     business and economic decisions. Since Commerce regulations 
     provide that duty liability attaches upon initiation of a 
     circumvention inquiry, enactment of H.J. Res. 39 would 
     subject stakeholders to over $1 billion in duties retroactive 
     to April 1, 2022.
       This abrupt and retroactive change in policy would 
     eliminate 30,000 good-paying U.S. jobs--including 4,000 
     manufacturing jobs--and $4.2 billion in domestic investment. 
     4 GW of solar projects would be cancelled, which would in 
     turn increase CO2 emissions by 42 million metric tons.


  Temporary Duty Pause Provides Bridge to Domestic Solar Manufacturing

       Domestic solar manufacturing capacity is rapidly expanding. 
     In 2021, the U.S. had the capacity to manufacture up to 7GW 
     per year of solar panels, or enough to meet roughly one-third 
     of total domestic demand. The U.S. solar industry prefers to 
     source equipment domestically and has put forward an 
     aggressive yet achievable roadmap to reach 50GW of domestic 
     solar manufacturing capacity by 2030. As an industry, solar 
     is diligently working to onshore its supply chains.
       A major transition is underway. The Department of Energy 
     National Renewable Energy Laboratory's tracking of initial 
     public announcements shows forthcoming panel manufacturing 
     capacity totaling 42GW--on track to meet the industry's 50 GW 
     by 2030 goal. However, building out manufacturing facilities 
     and all the technology necessary to fully supply the solar 
     industry will take time.
       H.J. Res. 39 would unfortunately undermine this progress. 
     Placing retroactive duties on solar cells, an essential 
     component of a solar panel for which there is currently no 
     domestic production, directly undercuts efforts to ramp up 
     domestic solar panel manufacturing.
       The 2-year duty pause from June 6, 2022, through June 6, 
     2024, is a temporary measure that provides a bridge to the 
     point that domestic manufacturing is more capable of meeting 
     domestic demand. This policy is working, and our reliance on 
     foreign supply chains will lessen as more domestic production 
     capacity comes online. Barring a major departure from the new 
     regime governing circumvention outlined in Commerce's 
     preliminary determination, SEIA does not plan to advocate for 
     an extension of the 2-year duty pause beyond its current 
     expiration on June 6, 2024.


                               Conclusion

       I appreciate the opportunity to share the U.S. solar 
     industry's perspective and concerns with H.J. Res. 39. Many 
     thanks in advance for your consideration, and I would be 
     happy to visit with you in greater detail about this issue.
           Sincerely,

                                    Abigail Ross Hopper, Esq.,

                                                  President & CEO,
                              Solar Energy Industries Association.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Thompson), who played an instrumental role in crafting 
many of these energy provisions. I love the partnership with him.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
his leadership and yielding me the extra time to speak.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I share my colleagues' goal of ensuring that our trade 
laws are fairly enforced. I certainly share our collective goal 
promoting domestic manufacturing and jobs.
  Let's be honest. The idea that our President wants to ship jobs to 
China and make us dependent on China for our energy, this may sound 
good, this political hyperbole may sound good, but it is flatout 
nonsense.
  If this legislation were to become law, it would cost, not create, 
American jobs. In the long run, it would make it harder, not easier, 
for our country to become energy independent.
  This bill would make it impossible to deploy solar energy quickly 
enough here in our country, here in the United States of America. It 
would undercut the climate change investments in the Inflation 
Reduction Act; the biggest investment in fighting climate change and 
creating green jobs in our history.
  This is an investment that we need. We have already heard from 
numerous speakers on the impact that we have felt from climate change: 
fires, floods, drought, and an increase in agricultural pests. This is 
at a point where we need to deploy everything we can to make sure we 
address the issue of climate change.
  We all want solar products manufactured right here at home. That will 
happen. But in the short run, our domestic industry can't increase 
production fast enough to meet our demand or meet our climate goals.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, 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

[[Page H2098]]

     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.

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, this article notes that three 
Democratic Senators, including the chairman of the Senate Finance 
Committee, Senator Wyden, Senator Manchin from West Virginia, and 
Senator Brown from Ohio, have publicly supported rescinding President 
Biden's action to pause tariffs on Chinese solar panels, even before 
the CRA has even passed the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I understand that at least one more Democratic Senator 
has also expressed support. I thank my Democratic colleagues in the 
House and in the Senate for joining me in standing up for American 
workers by supporting consistent enforcement of our trade laws against 
China's unfair trade practices.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Latta).
  Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.J. Res. 39, a bipartisan 
joint resolution of which I am proud to be an original cosponsor.
  We are a Nation of laws. It is not up to the President to determine 
which laws to enforce and which laws to ignore if they don't conform to 
that President's particular agenda.
  If we allow Communist China to blatantly violate our trade laws with 
impunity, as the Commerce Department has concluded is occurring, how 
can we expect other nations to follow those laws and conduct business 
with us in a fair manner?
  Those who oppose this joint resolution will say the imposition of 
these tariffs will handicap renewable projects across this country that 
rely on a continuous supply of solar panels and materials. I understand 
this concern, and I am not opposed to the deployment of more renewable 
energy projects.
  However, I am opposed to the United States maintaining a supply chain 
reliant on Communist China and their forced slave labor. We should 
instead be working to build up our own solar manufacturing industry and 
send signals to the industry that the time to shorten supply chains is 
long past due. Unfortunately, these domestic companies operate at a 
disadvantage when Communist China gets to break the rules and undermine 
the markets with their cheap prices.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand up for American workers 
and for American energy independence. Vote ``yes'' on H.J. Res. 39.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oregon 
for his leadership and for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, solar energy is one form of electricity generation that 
is growing in the United States. Yet, we do not have the economy of 
scale in manufacturing solar systems to meet supply and demand for 
industry and consumers.
  Solar energy accounts for 3.9 percent of total electricity generation 
in 2021 compared to 0.7 percent in 2014. Currently, domestic solar 
production is sold out for the next 2 to 3 years.
  In order to continue to address China's unfair trading practices and 
allow America's solar industry to grow, President Biden's Presidential 
Proclamation 10414 declared an emergency with respect to U.S. 
electricity generation capacity by implementing a final rule that 
permits the importation of select sales on modules without the payment 
of antidumping and countervailing duty temporary for 24 months.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a 
statement from the Uyghur Human Rights Project in support of H.J. Res. 
39.

                                  Uyghur Human Rights Project,

                                                   April 18, 2023.
       To the Members of the Committee: I write in strong support 
     of H.J. Res. 39. This bipartisan bill would repeal the Biden 
     Administration's Solar Emergency Declaration, a harmful rule 
     issued in June 2022 that protects Chinese solar manufacturers 
     that the Department of Commerce has determined are illegally 
     avoiding U.S. tariffs.
       As you know, both the President Biden and President Trump 
     administrations have determined that the government of the 
     People's Republic of China (PRC) is committing genocide and 
     crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs and other Turkic 
     peoples, including state-imposed forced labor, mass forced 
     sterilization, and mass enforced disappearance and arbitrary 
     detention. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner 
     for Human Rights (OHCHR) found in its authoritative August 
     31, 2022 report (the ``Bachelet Report'') that the PRC is 
     responsible for ``serious human rights violations'' that 
     ``may constitute crimes against humanity.''
       In response to the Uyghur human-rights crisis, the U.S. 
     government has taken action to ban products made with forced 
     labor from China, including solar equipment, among 100+ 
     human-rights sanctions including export bans, investment 
     bans, visa bans, and Global Magnitsky targeted human rights 
     OFAC SDN designations. Under the Uyghur Forced Labor 
     Prevention Act, which came into force on June 21, 2022, no 
     products are exempt from the ``rebuttable presumption'' that 
     all products mined, grown, or manufactured in the Uyghur 
     Region are banned under Section 307 of the U.S. Tariff Act. 
     The law is applicable regardless of the needs of particular 
     industries or the scarcity of alternative supplies.
       No economic or environmental imperative can justify profits 
     from the genocidal state-imposed forced labor of Uyghurs.
       The reality is that the Chinese polysilicon and solar-
     component industries are highly dependent on mining and 
     manufacturing in the Uyghur homeland, using central 
     government subsidies and incentives, and under the auspices 
     of the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
       In our view, it is clear that an increase in solar imports 
     from Chinese solar manufacturers--regardless of whether these 
     imports are from China or Chinese controlled factories in 
     Southeast Asia--directly supports the Chinese solar 
     industry's use of Uyghur forced labor. According to 
     government data, imports of solar cells and modules from 
     Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam have risen 69 
     percent since 2019.
       It is unconscionable to believe that the U.S. should build 
     a clean-energy future that

[[Page H2099]]

     relies on products made under the combination of dirty coal 
     plants and China's genocidal forced-labor inputs. As the AFL-
     CIO pointed out in a major statement in October 2021, the 
     ``solar industry and its entire value chain, should exemplify 
     how the United States meets the climate, equity and economic 
     challenges of the 21st century.'' It's a false choice to 
     think we can achieve climate goals by abandoning our core 
     values.
       As H.J. Res. 39 comes before the Ways and Means Committee, 
     we urge you to support this bipartisan, common-sense measure. 
     It is indefensible to allow Chinese solar manufacturers that 
     profit from Uyghur forced labor to be exempted from 
     compliance with U.S. trade law.

                                                     Louisa Greve,
                                      Director of Global Advocacy.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, the statement highlights the 
close connection between the CCP solar industry and the ongoing human 
rights abuses and forced labor being perpetrated against the Uyghurs. 
This is bipartisan consensus that these practices are unacceptable and 
must be stopped.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. 
Tenney).
  Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 39, critical 
legislation to undue to Biden administration's job-crushing solar 
policies.
  Last year, an American solar manufacturer petitioned the Commerce 
Department to investigate whether China was circumventing tariffs on 
solar products by sneaking them through countries in southeast Asia.
  Before that investigation even finished, President Biden issued a 
proclamation to allow the imports of unfairly traded solar products 
from China. Later, just as we expected, it was discovered by the 
Commerce Department that China was indeed violating U.S. trade laws.
  President Biden's irresponsible proclamation is a slap in the face to 
American manufacturers. It allows Chinese solar companies to flood our 
market with their products tariff-free, hurting American jobs.
  It is the Green New Deal agenda at work. President Biden's 
proclamation also sends the message to trade cheats everywhere that 
U.S. trade laws don't matter. This invites even more cheating.
  This is only the tip of the spear of the dangerous Green New Deal 
agenda. A recent report from the Coalition for a Prosperous America 
revealed that the Chinese manufacturers could earn nearly $125 billion, 
and that is with a b, in U.S. renewable energy tax credits as a result 
of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.
  This would be a specific boon to Chinese solar manufacturers on top 
of the massive giveaway given to China by President Biden's 
proclamation. We must stand with American manufacturers and jobs, not 
the Chinese Communist Party, and pass this crucial legislation.

                              {time}  0945

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a statement from 
the National Taxpayers Union opposing the proposal from our Republican 
friends to raise tariffs on solar goods.

             [From National Taxpayers Union, Apr. 25, 2023]

NTU Urges All Representatives To Vote ``NO'' on House Joint Resolution 
       39, Congressional Review Act Legislation on Solar Tariffs

       Just weeks after the House of Representatives passed The 
     Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), the House will consider a 
     proposal to increase energy costs by raising tariffs on solar 
     goods.
       A proposed Congressional Review Act resolution, H.J. Res. 
     39, would nullify a two-year suspension of tariffs on certain 
     solar panels from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, or Vietnam 
     that use parts and components manufactured in China.
       National Taxpayers Union (NTU) does not believe that 
     Congress should increase energy costs via the Congressional 
     Review Act.
       The tariffs in question were initially imposed on 
     Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells from the People's 
     Republic of China in 2012. In 2022, in response to a request 
     from Auxin Solar Inc., the Commerce Department determined 
     that some of these duties were being circumvented through the 
     inclusion of Chinese parts on goods imported from other 
     countries.
       NTU agrees with the House Ways and Means Committee that 
     trade policy should protect the interests of American workers 
     and our economy as a whole. However, the initial imposition 
     of solar tariffs resulted from a flawed and biased system. 
     The Commerce Department and U.S. International Trade 
     Commission (USITC) failed to utilize cost-benefit analysis to 
     consider the impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy. Solar 
     taxes were imposed without consideration of their impact on 
     U.S. jobs, on the energy industry, on manufacturing, or on 
     American households' energy bills.
       A more fundamental question than whether foreign suppliers 
     are attempting to circumvent solar tariffs is whether 
     Congress should continue to allow the Commerce Department and 
     USITC to impose tariffs on solar goods, tin mill products, 
     fertilizer, and other goods without first considering the 
     impact of such tariffs on all Americans, not just the 
     industry seeking protection.
       These tariffs would protect Auxin from import competition. 
     Ironically, according to the federal National Renewable 
     Energy Laboratory, as of 2019 most of the components and 
     materials used by Auxin are imported. Earlier this year Auxin 
     even asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representatives to 
     exclude certain Chinese-produced solar goods from Section 301 
     tariffs, writing: ``Removing tariffs on junction boxes, solar 
     glass, EVAs, and solar module assembly equipment would free 
     up further resources to hasten the expansion of the U.S. 
     solar value chain, ultimately yielding a more secure domestic 
     solar supply chain.''
       At a time when many taxpayers are struggling with high 
     energy prices--brought on, in part, by flawed government 
     policies--Congress should not use the Congressional Review 
     Act to increase taxes on American energy users. NTU urges you 
     to reject H.J. Res. 39.
       Roll call votes on H.J. Res. 39 will be included in NTU's 
     annual Rating of Congress and a ``NO'' vote will be 
     considered the pro-taxpayer position.
       If you have any questions, please contact Bryan Riley, 
     Director of NTU's Free Trade Initiative.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Beyer).
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I believe almost all of us are here to make 
America stronger, to serve the people who sent us here. This act will 
do exactly the opposite.
  It will hurt the 33,000 American solar installers who will lose their 
jobs. It will raise energy costs for families everywhere, but 
especially in the Sun Belt. It will hurt all Americans who hope to use 
the solar tax credit.
  It will hurt the energy companies, the businesses that built major 
solar installations in the last 8 months that will be subject to a 
retroactive tariff of 254 percent.
  It will harm our endangered planet. It will handcuff us in our fight 
against climate change.
  Mr. Speaker, the act will not help our growing domestic solar panel 
manufacturers that are already sold out till the end of the pause. It 
won't hurt China, which has abundant buyers in the rest of the world. 
This is the same China that ships a million packages a day duty-free to 
the United States because of our $800 de minimis exception.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an act that only creates losers. There are no 
winners. I urge my friends to vote ``no.''
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a press 
release from President Biden's Department of Commerce that states the 
Department determined in December 2022, after a thorough investigation, 
that Chinese solar companies are circumventing U.S. tariffs on solar 
products.

            [From U.S. Department of Commerce, Dec. 2, 2022]

      Department of Commerce Issues Preliminary Determination of 
  Circumvention Inquiries of Solar Cells and Modules Produced in China

                       (Office of Public Affairs)

       Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its 
     prelimiary determinations in the circumvention inquiries of 
     solar cells and modules from the People's Republic of China 
     (PRC). Commerce examined a complaint alleging that eight 
     solar companies that manufacture solar cells and modules are 
     manufactured the components in the PRC, then sending those 
     cells and modules to Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and/or 
     Vietnam for minor processing before being exported to the 
     United States. Such actions amount to an effort to evade the 
     existing antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) 
     orders on solar cells and modules from the PRC. Today's 
     preliminary determination underscores Commerce's commitment 
     to holding the PRC accountable for its trade distorting 
     actions, which undermine American industries.
       Under U.S. law, Commerce may conduct a circumvention 
     inquiry when evidence suggests that merchandise subject to an 
     existing AD/CVD order is completed or assembled in third 
     countries from parts and components imported from the country 
     subject to the order. AD/CVD orders are designed to provide 
     relief to the U.S. domestic industries when they are facing 
     unfair competition. Circumvention of these duties threatens 
     to undermine American industries, workers, and businesses.
       After a thorough, transparent, and data-driven 
     investigation of eight companies across the four countries, 
     Commerce preliminarily found that four of the eight companies

[[Page H2100]]

     being investigated are attempting to bypass U.S. duties by 
     doing minor processing in one of the Southeast Asian 
     countries before shipping to the United States.
       The preliminary findings are as follows:
       Third Country, Company, Finding:
       Cambodia: BYD Hong Kong, Circumventing; New East Solar, Not 
     Circumventing.
       Malaysia: Hanwha, Not Circumventing; Jinko, Not 
     Circumventing.
       Thailand: Canadian Solar, Circumventing; Trina, 
     Circumventing.
       Vietnam: Boviet, Not Circumventing; Vina Solar, 
     Circumventing.
       Further, some companies in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam 
     did not respond to Commerce's request for information in this 
     investigation, and consistent with longstanding practice, 
     will be found to be circumventing.
       Because Commerce preliminarily found that circumvention was 
     occurring through each of the four Southeast Asian countries, 
     Commerce is making a ``country-wide'' circumvention finding, 
     which simply designates the country as one through which 
     solar cells and modules are being circumvented from the PRC. 
     This does not constitute a ban on imports from those 
     countries. Companies in these countries will be permitted to 
     certify that they are not circumventing the AD/CVD orders, in 
     which case the circumvention findings will not apply. With 
     regard to the companies under investigation that were not 
     circumventing the AD/CVD duties, no action will be taken as 
     long as their production process and supply chain do not 
     change.
       These findings are preliminary, and as a next step, 
     Commerce will conduct in-person audits in the coming months 
     to verify the information that was the basis of its finding. 
     Furthermore, all parties will have an opportunity to comment 
     on Commerce's finding, which Commerce will fully consider 
     before issuing its final determination, which is currently 
     scheduled for May 1, 2023.
       Independent of Commerce's final determination, the 
     Presidential Proclamation issued on June 6, 2022, provides 
     that duties will not be collected on any solar module and 
     cell imports from these four countries until June 2024, as 
     long as the imports are consumed in the U.S. market within 
     six months of the termination of the President's 
     Proclamation. This provides U.S. solar importers with 
     sufficient time to adjust supply chains and ensure that 
     sourcing isn't occurring from companies found to be violating 
     U.S. law. Solar cells made in one of the four Southeast Asian 
     countries, even if made from wafers from China, that are then 
     exported to a non-inquiry country and further assembled into 
     modules or other products there, are not subject to 
     Commerce's preliminary circumvention findings.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, the evidence is clear. Chinese 
companies have set up shop in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam 
to get around U.S. tariffs that were put in place in 2012 by President 
Obama, yet the Biden administration is turning a blind eye on American 
workers and American manufacturers by waiving additional tariffs while 
it acknowledges cheating by Chinese companies.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Panetta).
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution 
because American solar companies need the delay on solar tariffs so 
that they can keep up with the American demand for clean energy.
  If we repeal this delay with this CRA, the American solar industry 
could be hit with more than $1 billion--with a b, billion--in 
retroactive duties, taxes that would cause cancellations and supply 
chain issues, stall solar deployment, and set us back on our clean 
energy goals.
  Look, we have already seen, just with the threat of these tariffs, a 
30 percent decrease in solar deployment last year. Of course, we want 
to strategically decouple from China, I believe especially with their 
solar pieces, parts, and equipment. However, American solar companies 
need more time to adapt, adjust, and reduce Chinese inputs in solar 
panels.
  I also realize that we need to do more to bolster our domestic solar 
manufacturing, but that is why we recently made significant investments 
for domestic credits. However, if we allow these retroactive tariffs to 
take place now, it would deprive our solar industry of the incentive to 
invest in our manufacturing projects at home.
  That is why we need this delay, and that is why this delay was the 
right call, not just by this administration but it is also the right 
call so the American solar industry can catch up to our domestic 
demands, so Americans can continue to speed up their solar deployment, 
and America can continue to step up when it comes to the continued 
success of our economy and the future of our sustainability.
  Mr. Speaker, that is why I urge a ``no'' vote on this CRA.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Chu).
  Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution. 
Democrats successfully passed America's single largest investment in 
clean and renewable energy last year in the Inflation Reduction Act, 
which will quickly decarbonize our economy and shift manufacturing back 
here to the U.S. That includes production of solar panels that will be 
critical to the clean energy transition.
  Last year, the Commerce Department made a thorough and data-driven 
determination that some companies in four Southeast Asian countries are 
circumventing U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar panels. Our trade policy 
requires balance, and the President's emergency order created a short-
term bridge to secure the solar materials needed to protect jobs and 
meet our energy transition goods over the next year.
  While the emergency order is not perfect, it is necessary to give 
solar projects in the pipeline enough time to come into full compliance 
with our trade laws.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a statement from 
the League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council, 
Sierra Club, Climate Action Campaign, Environmental Law and Policy 
Center, Clean Energy for America, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 
Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, and Union of Concerned 
Scientists that urges the rejection of the proposal that our Republican 
friends are making.

                                                   April 17, 2023.
       Dear Member of Congress: The undersigned groups write to 
     express our opposition to the Congressional Review Act (CRA) 
     resolutions of disapproval (H.J. Res 39 and S.J. Res 15) 
     aimed at reversing President Biden's temporary suspension of 
     tariffs on certain solar cells and panels from manufacturers 
     in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Passage of these 
     resolutions could destabilize solar supply chains, harm 
     ongoing deployment of large scale solar projects, threaten 
     high-quality solar construction jobs, and impede our nation's 
     decarbonization goals.
       Proclamation 10414, issued by President Biden in June 2022, 
     gave the U.S. Department of Commerce authority to issue 
     regulations suspending new solar tariffs until June 2024 
     while the department proceeded with its investigation into 
     claims that facilities in the Southeastern Asian countries 
     were circumventing existing tariffs on Chinese solar 
     companies. The Commerce Department subsequently issued rules 
     implementing the delay, and H.J. Res 39 and S.J. Res 15 would 
     nullify that rulemaking.
       Our organizations support both a shift to cleaner and 
     fairer supply chains for clean energy, as well as the rapid 
     deployment of clean energy in order to meet the urgency of 
     the climate crisis. Thanks in part to the expansive 
     investments in clean energy manufacturing and high quality 
     job standards included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), 
     we are now well positioned to achieve both of these goals. 
     The administration's strong implementation of the IRA's 
     domestic content provisions is a critical piece to further 
     drive manufacturing buildout in the U.S. However, passage of 
     these CRA resolutions would undermine the ability of the U.S. 
     solar industry to succeed in accelerating the shift to more 
     clean energy on the power grid.
       The President's decision to pause tariffs for two years is 
     providing U.S. businesses with much-needed certainty after 
     several months of project cancellations and delays last year 
     due to the Commerce Department's investigation, which caused 
     solar deployment to decline by 30 percent--10 gigawatts below 
     expectations.
       We have already seen more than $13 billion in domestic 
     solar manufacturing announcements since the passage of the 
     IRA. While more buildout is needed, this demonstrates that 
     domestic investment is headed in the right direction. 
     Additional panel shortages, as we saw during the Commerce 
     Department investigation, would once again debilitate U.S. 
     utility-scale solar projects and jobs. And if a CRA 
     resolution rolls back the President's two-year tariff pause, 
     then debilitating shortages and lost investment capital could 
     begin this year.
       Beyond the harm to solar deployments across the U.S., there 
     is the larger issue of the CRA being the wrong tool for 
     Congressional oversight. Congress has always had the power to 
     create, modify or eliminate rules using the regular 
     legislative process. The CRA provides a more extreme path by 
     repealing a rule in its entirety and preventing an agency 
     from issuing a new rule that is ``substantially the same,'' 
     an undefined phrase that can essentially freeze the 
     regulatory process.

[[Page H2101]]

       In this instance, while the Commerce Department 
     investigation of tariff circumvention was being conducted, 
     the administration sought to provide enough lead time for 
     domestic solar panel manufacturing and supply chains to 
     rapidly expand operations to meet demand, bring certainty on 
     the prices of imported panels to the solar companies 
     deploying clean energy, and job stability for those workers 
     installing panels. Passing these resolutions could prevent 
     future administrations from being able to find appropriate 
     solutions to other tariffs and trade challenges.
       For these reasons, the undersigned organizations urge you 
     to vote NO on H.J. Res 39 and S.J. Res 15. Thank you for your 
     attention to this matter and for considering our views.
           Sincerely,
       League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense 
     Council, Sierra Club, Climate Action Campaign, Environmental 
     Law and Policy Center, Clean Energy for America, Chesapeake 
     Climate Action Network, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense 
     Fund, Union of Concerned Scientists.

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the concern I have is that what is being missed here is 
the reality that we are dependent on the supply chain in which China 
plays a key role. We don't like it. My Republican friends don't like 
it. Unfortunately, they have undermined efforts that we have to try to 
reposition the supply chain.
  The energy proposals that we have offered up are an opportunity to 
grow and strengthen America's capacity. Just yesterday, they would 
repeal a number of those provisions. Their proposal would impose over a 
billion dollars of retroactive tariffs on our solar industry at a time 
when we are trying to grow it.
  We want to give the industry time to reorient the supply chain. That 
takes time. It is already made clear on the floor right now that the 
current solar industry is at capacity. They need time to change the 
supply chains.
  Sadly, my Republican friends would reduce incentives to strengthen 
the American supply chain. The reality is in the past we have allowed 
China to have a dominant position. We don't want that.
  We have offered up a variety of proposals that would strengthen and 
incentivize American business, but this proposal, if enacted, would 
punish American workers, it would punish American business, and it 
would set us back on our climate goals. That does not serve anybody 
well.
  Instead, the Biden administration has offered a reasonable compromise 
extending for 2 years the ability to continue the course here while we 
reorient the supply chain.
  I have a whole host of proposals if my colleagues want to be tough on 
China. Mr. Beyer referenced the fact that, through the de minimis 
provisions, we are allowing over 2 million packages a day in the United 
States' stream of commerce often, no doubt, produced by forced labor, 
uninspected, and not paying tariffs.
  This is a simple, commonsense provision that we have offered up that 
would help change that, and we have others if people want to deal 
meaningfully with the Chinese challenge. This doesn't. This doesn't 
change the reality of our current dependence on China for the supply 
chain, and, indeed, it will complicate our ability to make the 
transition.
  I respectfully urge that we reject this resolution and allow the 
opportunity for our industry to get its footing and make the transition 
that we all want them to make.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to share my opinions, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, my grandfather always told me that actions speak louder 
than words. We have heard a lot of words about people standing up to 
China. This resolution will give every Member in this body the 
opportunity to stand up to China, and this is the way to do it.
  Mr. Speaker, I am so thankful that we have Democratic Senators--
including my counterpart, Senator Wyden--on the other side of the aisle 
who are willing to do the right thing for the American worker and to do 
what President Obama did in 2012 to make sure that the solar industry 
works for America and does not become beholden to China.
  Today, the U.S. Congress has the opportunity to send a direct message 
to China, and really any country that thinks about violating trade 
policies or attempts to cheat American workers, that the U.S. will not 
tolerate such behavior. I appreciate the fact that this can be a 
bipartisan message.
  The White House made a very misguided decision when it chose to lift 
additional tariffs from China for 2 years. That action, in my view, 
sends the wrong message to the world, particularly when we know, based 
on findings by the President's own Commerce Department, that China is 
cheating American workers and consumers by circumventing tariffs right 
now.
  We have the opportunity today to act on bipartisan legislation that 
will turn out the lights on that decision and hold China accountable.
  To be clear, U.S. purchasers of fairly traded solar products will not 
pay a single penny of additional tariffs if this resolution is enacted. 
This is about protecting American workers and American jobs and holding 
China accountable.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for 
introducing this resolution and fighting to protect American workers 
and American jobs.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition of H.J. Res. 39--
Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Commerce relating 
to ``Procedures Covering Suspension of Liquidation, Duties and 
Estimated Duties in Accord with Presidential Proclamation 10414''.
  This joint resolution nullifies a final rule submitted by the 
Department of Commerce and was published on September 16, 2022.
  H.J. Res. 39 permitted the suspension of tariffs on specific solar 
panels, also known as crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and 
modules.
  The regulation specifically applied to solar panels made in Cambodia, 
Malaysia, Thailand, or Vietnam using parts and components made in China 
that are not previously covered by an antidumping or countervailing 
duty order.
  Orders for antidumping and countervailing duties are put in place to 
combat unfair trade practices, such as when a foreign government gives 
domestic companies subsidies to give them an economic advantage over 
competitors from abroad.
  The restriction that was repealed served to relieve businesses who 
import solar panels from these nations and make use of Chinese-made 
parts and components that are exempt from such orders.
  By placing large and potentially retroactive duties on some imported 
solar panels, H.J. Res. 39 would obstruct the supply of solar products 
to the United States.
  President Biden declared an energy emergency on June 6, 2022, to 
guarantee consistent and inexpensive access to renewable energy.
  Following that, the Department of Commerce published a rule to 
establish a temporary, 24-month freeze on the collection of specific 
tariffs on solar cells or modules.
  The U.S. solar industry was given the opportunity and time to realign 
supply chains away from China due to this rule and the new domestic 
manufacturing incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act.
  Without a temporary bridge, the price of solar installations will 
rise dramatically, and less solar project development will be planned.
  The shift to clean energy will lead to an increase in employment, 
manufacturing, and wages here in the United States.
  The Inflation Reduction Act represents the single biggest investment 
in clean energy in American history.
  The IRA is starting the nation on the road to sustainable, 
responsible energy independence.
  Additionally, approximately 100,000 jobs for American mechanics, 
electricians, construction workers, technicians, support personnel, and 
other professionals have been created as a result of the green tax 
credits in the IRA.
  Ninety new sustainable energy projects have been announced in 31 
states in the first half of the year of the law.
  Manufacturing facilities for batteries, electric vehicles, and wind 
and solar energy systems are among these initiatives.
  The move by President Biden is a one-time fix to realign American 
supply lines.
  Initiating high, retroactive tariffs right away, harming solar 
growth, raising energy prices, and reducing supply at a time when we 
need to ramp up would be the results of ending the President's interim 
suspension.
  By 2030, carbon emissions are expected to be reduced by 40 percent 
thanks to the clean energy credits provided by the Inflation Reduction 
Act, providing us a real chance to achieve the Paris Climate 
Agreement's objectives.

[[Page H2102]]

  The bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which will make 
unprecedented investments in American workers, communities, and 
businesses, was signed into law by President Biden last August.
  The CHIPS Act will improve American semiconductor development, 
research, and manufacturing, among other things.
  The CHIPS Act forbids recipients of funds from increasing chip 
manufacture in China and other nations that are legally deemed to pose 
a threat to American national security.
  These historic policies, along with the CHIPS Act and the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law, have encouraged businesses to invest more than $200 
billion in American manufacturing.
  According to Uyghur Human Rights Project (UGRP), a rise in solar 
imports from Chinese solar manufacturers--regardless of whether such 
imports come from China or Chinese-controlled facilities in Southeast 
Asia--directly encourages the Chinese solar industry's use of Uyghur 
forced labor.
  According to UHRP, imports of solar cells and modules from Cambodia, 
Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam have increased by 69 percent during 
2019.
  In addition, UHRP argues that it is intolerable to think that the 
United States should rely on goods produced by filthy ``coal plants and 
China's genocidal forced-labor inputs'' to sustain the transition to 
renewable energy.
  Priorities for the environment and a commitment to uphold human 
rights must go hand in hand.
  As a member of the House renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency 
Caucus, I strongly oppose H.J. Res. 39 because it will harm solar 
growth and raise energy prices.
  I strongly urge all my colleagues to come in stand in the opposition 
of H.J. Res. 39, because it is the Republicans' effort to roll back the 
Inflation Act. We should stop these attempts to undermine our hard-
earned win.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 39. This 
resolution is another Republican attack on President Biden's climate 
goals that will harm American jobs and existing domestic solar 
projects. This is an unnecessary rush to insert ourselves into agency 
rulemaking before Congress has the full picture.
  This resolution would overturn a Biden Administration regulation that 
placed a two-year moratorium on tariffs on solar panels and cells from 
four Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and 
Vietnam. This rule was put in place to ensure the American solar supply 
chain has adequate volumes of solar panels and cells to meet domestic 
demand. H.J. Res. 39 clearly ignores the fact that the Department of 
Commerce has been studying the way China may be manipulating solar 
markets in Southeast Asia to avoid U.S. tariffs during the two-year 
duty moratorium. The Department of Commerce is almost set to release a 
final report with their findings in May. It is irresponsible for 
Congress to overturn the Biden Administration's rule without seeing the 
result of that investigation on the full scope of China's role in these 
markets.
  I am proud of the historic investments in domestic clean energy 
manufacturing made under unified Democratic control in the last 
Congress. Democrats are building toward the goal of solar panels and 
cells being American made, American built, and union installed. 
Congressional Republicans have long been hostile to investments in 
clean energy and Republicans are using this resolution as an 
opportunity to slow down our economy as it transitions to a clean 
energy economy. H.J. Res. 39 jeopardizes existing projects which would 
mean the loss of jobs for the hard-working Americans who design, 
construct, and install solar. We have seen historic investments in 
community solar projects in Minnesota's Fourth District. This 
resolution puts those projects, and the jobs they create, in danger.
  Mr. Speaker, let me be clear, H.J. Res. 39 is an attack on President 
Biden, our transition to a clean energy economy, and domestic 
manufacturing goals.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Meuser). All time for debate has 
expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 327, the previous question is ordered.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the joint 
resolution.
  The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third 
time, and was read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the joint 
resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 221, 
nays 202, not voting 12, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 202]

                               YEAS--221

     Aderholt
     Alford
     Allen
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bean (FL)
     Bentz
     Bergman
     Bice
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (NC)
     Boebert
     Bost
     Brecheen
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Burlison
     Calvert
     Cammack
     Carey
     Carl
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chavez-DeRemer
     Ciscomani
     Cline
     Cloud
     Clyde
     Cole
     Collins
     Comer
     Crane
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Davidson
     Davis (NC)
     De La Cruz
     Deluzio
     Diaz-Balart
     Donalds
     Duarte
     Duncan
     Dunn (FL)
     Edwards
     Ellzey
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ezell
     Fallon
     Feenstra
     Ferguson
     Finstad
     Fischbach
     Fitzgerald
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flood
     Foxx
     Franklin, C. Scott
     Fry
     Fulcher
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garamendi
     Garcia, Mike
     Gimenez
     Golden (ME)
     Gonzales, Tony
     Good (VA)
     Gooden (TX)
     Gosar
     Granger
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Greene (GA)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hageman
     Harris
     Harshbarger
     Hern
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Hinson
     Houchin
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Issa
     Jackson (TX)
     James
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Kaptur
     Kean (NJ)
     Kelly (MS)
     Khanna
     Kiggans (VA)
     Kildee
     Kiley
     Kim (CA)
     Kustoff
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Langworthy
     Latta
     LaTurner
     Lee (FL)
     Lesko
     Letlow
     Loudermilk
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Luna
     Luttrell
     Mace
     Malliotakis
     Mann
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClain
     McClintock
     McCormick
     McHenry
     Meuser
     Miller (IL)
     Miller (OH)
     Miller (WV)
     Mills
     Moolenaar
     Mooney
     Moore (AL)
     Moore (UT)
     Moran
     Mrvan
     Murphy
     Nehls
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunn (IA)
     Obernolte
     Ogles
     Owens
     Palmer
     Pascrell
     Pence
     Perez
     Perry
     Pfluger
     Posey
     Reschenthaler
     Rodgers (WA)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose
     Rosendale
     Rouzer
     Roy
     Rutherford
     Santos
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Self
     Sessions
     Sewell
     Simpson
     Slotkin
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smucker
     Spartz
     Stauber
     Steel
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Stewart
     Strong
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Tiffany
     Timmons
     Valadao
     Van Drew
     Van Duyne
     Van Orden
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Waltz
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams (NY)
     Williams (TX)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Yakym
     Zinke

                               NAYS--202

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Auchincloss
     Balint
     Barragan
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Bowman
     Boyle (PA)
     Brown
     Brownley
     Budzinski
     Bush
     Caraveo
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson
     Carter (LA)
     Cartwright
     Casar
     Case
     Casten
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Cherfilus-McCormick
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Craig
     Crockett
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Curtis
     D'Esposito
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (IL)
     Dean (PA)
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     DeSaulnier
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Evans
     Fletcher
     Foster
     Foushee
     Frankel, Lois
     Frost
     Gallego
     Garbarino
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Garcia, Robert
     Goldman (NY)
     Gomez
     Gonzalez, Vicente
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al (TX)
     Grijalva
     Harder (CA)
     Hayes
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Hoyle (OR)
     Huffman
     Ivey
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson (NC)
     Jackson Lee
     Jacobs
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Kamlager-Dove
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kilmer
     Kim (NJ)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster
     LaLota
     Landsman
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawler
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Lee (PA)
     Leger Fernandez
     Levin
     Lieu
     Lofgren
     Lynch
     Magaziner
     Manning
     Massie
     Matsui
     McBath
     McClellan
     McCollum
     McGarvey
     McGovern
     Meeks
     Menendez
     Meng
     Miller-Meeks
     Molinaro
     Moore (WI)
     Moskowitz
     Moulton
     Mullin
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Nickel
     Norcross
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Peltola
     Pettersen
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Porter
     Pressley
     Quigley
     Ramirez
     Raskin
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Ryan
     Salinas
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Scholten
     Schrier
     Scott, David
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Smith (WA)
     Sorensen
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Stansbury
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Strickland
     Swalwell
     Sykes
     Takano
     Thanedar
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tlaib
     Tokuda
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres (NY)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Underwood
     Vargas
     Vasquez
     Veasey
     Velazquez
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Wexton
     Wild
     Williams (GA)
     Wilson (FL)

[[Page H2103]]


  


                             NOT VOTING--12

     DesJarlais
     Hunt
     Kelly (PA)
     Mfume
     Morelle
     Peters
     Ross
     Salazar
     Schneider
     Scott (VA)
     Turner
     Watson Coleman

                              {time}  1026

  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Mr. CARTER of Texas changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the joint resolution was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated against:
  Ms. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I missed votes today due to a family medical 
situation. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall 
No. 202.
  Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, due to a long-standing family obligation, 
planned well before the congressional schedule was available, I could 
not be present for votes today. Had I been present, I would have voted 
``nay'' on rollcall No. 202.

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