[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 24, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2571-H2576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
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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''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of May
16, 2023, the unfinished business is the further consideration of the
veto message of the President on 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''.
The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is, Will the House, on
reconsideration pass the joint resolution, the objections of the
President to the contrary notwithstanding?
(For veto message, see proceedings of the House of May 16, 2023, at
page H2370.)
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) is
recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I
yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr.
Blumenauer), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Trade of the
Committee on Ways and Means, pending which I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the veto message of H.J.
Res. 39.
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 rise in support of overriding
President Biden's veto of H.J. Res. 39, a Congressional Review Act
resolution disapproving of 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. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, the Ways and Means Committee held a hearing
at the Port of Staten Island in New York to listen to working Americans
who are on the front lines of the impact of our trade policies.
Witnesses highlighted for the committee the troubling reality that
the Chinese Communist Party continues to engage in a wide range of
unfair trade practices that rip off American workers, farmers, and
businesses.
Today's resolution highlights one of the most prolific of these
unfair practices--massive subsidies for the CCP's favored industries.
Today's resolution is focused on the solar industry, but make no
mistake, the CCP's industrial policy impacts all sectors of the
American economy.
The United States has had tariffs in place since 2012--during the
Obama administration--to provide a level playing field for American
manufacturers who face unfair competition from unfairly priced and
subsidized solar products coming out of China.
Now, President Biden's own Commerce Department has found that Chinese
companies are shipping products through four Southeast Asian
countries--Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam--to avoid paying
these same tariffs.
China has set up a solar panel export scheme that cheats American
workers and consumers. Instead of standing up for American
manufacturers and workers, the White House rewarded China for
exploiting them by issuing a proclamation that allows the CCP to
continue to avoid paying the tariffs they owe for an additional 2
years.
The sad truth is the solar panel industry in China is historically
one of the most prolific users of forced labor.
This body stood together not too long ago to pass the Uyghur Forced
Labor Prevention Act. We should do the same thing now when it comes to
actually standing firm against products and industries which have a
proven track record of using such terrible practices.
Republicans and Democrats in this Chamber and in the Senate came
together to block implementation of the White House proclamation on
solar panels just a few weeks ago.
In doing, so we also sent a message to President Xi: We will not
allow China to abuse our trade policies and hurt American workers.
Unfortunately, President Biden doubled down on his misguided decision
and vetoed our efforts. America must stand up to China and stand up for
our workers.
Small businesses and U.S. manufacturers already have to deal with
inflation, rising interest rates, and a worker shortage.
The least Washington can do is level the playing field for American
workers competing against Chinese state-subsidized companies.
China's unfair trade practices have left behind a trail of shuttered
factories, lost jobs, and stolen intellectual property all across
America.
When we voted to roll back the White House's misguided decision on
solar panel tariffs, Congress spoke with a bipartisan voice in both
Chambers. I hope today we can do the same.
I urge my colleagues to once again support this effort to turn out
the lights on China's economic exploitation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this resolution.
President Biden struck the right balance by instituting a temporary
freeze on solar tariffs.
The Inflation Reduction Act has already led to the announcement of
more than 45 gigawatts of domestic solar manufacturing capacity, and
work has already begun.
In 2021, there were only 7 gigawatts of domestic manufacturing
capacity, but it takes time to build out manufacturing capacities. It
doesn't happen overnight.
This 2-year bridge gives the solar industry the time needed to
reorient supply chains away from China to produce panels domestically.
That is why the President's position is supported by leaders who do
the work: organized labor from IBEW, LIUNA, the carpenters, and the
operating engineers, as well as a variety of other organizations in the
environmental community and the National Taxpayers Union.
The solar industry itself strongly supports the administration's
position. Kenneth Cooper, president of IBEW, characterized the
President's action as a carefully crafted compromise that would provide
market certainty to allow American companies to continue deploying
solar panels.
H.J. Res. 39 is a backward-looking resolution, he said, looking to
reopen a settled matter rather than create a solution.
[[Page H2572]]
It is not just organized labor. Members of the environmental
community say that this resolution could destabilize the solar supply
chains, harm ongoing deployment, threaten high-quality solar
construction jobs, and impede our Nation's decarbonization goals.
The National Taxpayers Union opposes this proposal, saying that
Congress should not, ``increase energy costs via the Congressional
Review Act.''
Many of us in Congress have worked for years to achieve the policy
victories contained in the Inflation Reduction Act.
We share the goal of pushing back against China and have supported
legislation to do precisely that. Now is not the time to undermine our
efforts in producing a robust supply chain in solar.
I encourage my colleagues to consider the overwhelming evidence and
reject this legislation when it is called for a vote today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Miller).
Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the
veto override on H.J. Res. 39.
In the past 5 months, the Republican-led House of Representatives has
taken more action to hold China accountable for its unfair trade
practices than the past 4 years that I have been in Congress, all while
the Biden administration is actively working to promote Chinese
interests.
The Biden administration is allowing the Communist Chinese Party to
outmaneuver us at every step, even rewarding them by vetoing bipartisan
legislation that puts America first.
Letting Chinese solar companies cheat directly handicaps U.S. solar
manufacturers and puts America at a disadvantage.
Washington Democrats and the Biden administration have been in
lockstep with China since they entered the White House.
It baffles me that the administration is so quick to put America last
to help China succeed. We need a strategic decoupling from China.
Everyone in the United States should be focused on countering Chinese
influence by bringing jobs back to America and implementing solid trade
agreements with our allies.
It is imperative that we override this veto.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully disagree with the
gentlewoman from West Virginia. This would not help American industry.
I include in the Record statements from nine American stakeholders in
the industry who relied on Commerce's regulations to make significant
business and economic decisions.
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 woul1enalize 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.
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.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, they say nullifying Commerce's
rulemaking as provided for in H.J. Res. 39 would penalize companies
acting in accordance with the law by imposing large, up to 254 percent,
unanticipated retroactive duty liability for these stakeholders going
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 our
competitiveness in the marketplace.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, (Mr.
Doggett).
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, within this very week, the World
Meteorological Association has indicated that for the first time in
human history, we will hit a critical high temperature level by 2027.
It reported that in just 2 recent years, there were 22,000 deaths
from extreme weather events.
Recognizing that we already face a grave climate crisis, the American
people need a true winning strategy to escape the addiction to fossil
fuels.
More and more Americans are turning to clean energy, daring to go
green. A growing solar industry plays an instrumental role in helping
them in seeking lower global temperatures, in saving our planet.
Disregarding the extreme heat, extreme Republicans only seem to get
hot, to get warmed up, when they see the slightest opportunity to
impede progress.
Their answer today to those who are trying to help solve this
problem?
Punish American companies that are out there actually doing something
about this problem. Punish them with a $1 billion retroactive tax that
they will have to pay.
I believe that there is an opportunity to continue to resolve the
problems that we face with climate change. We responded to it last year
with a climate incentives law. Our Republican colleagues are also
seeking to repeal that law.
The pause that is involved in these tariffs ends in a mere 12 months,
and Republicans will not ultimately be successful today in blocking the
President.
What happens with this, as with their challenge to our climate
incentives law, is an indication of the many obstacles that we face
that we must overcome if we are to address the climate crisis.
I am yielding my time now, but we must not yield in the determination
to protect the only planet that we call home.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I remind my colleagues that the
overall U.S. trade remedy system is retrospective.
Final duties are always calculated after a product enters the United
States upon completion of an investigation or review.
We have hundreds of anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders in
place to level the playing field for American producers. In all these
cases, the final duties have been calculated at the end of the
investigation.
What is unusual about the solar circumvention case was the action by
the Biden administration to encourage importation of these products
despite the
[[Page H2573]]
fact that China is trading them unfairly.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms.
Tenney).
Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to voice my support once again for
this critical, bipartisan legislation to undo the Biden
administration's job-crushing solar policies.
It is unfortunate that we find ourselves here debating this policy
again after both the House and Senate acted in a bipartisan manner to
reject President Biden's solar giveaway to China.
Instead of siding with the American people and American workers, this
administration is putting its Green New Deal agenda ahead of our
economic prosperity.
Even though H.J. Res. 39 would protect American workers, and despite
its bipartisan passage in both Chambers, the President vetoed this
critical legislation.
Now Congress must unite to override this vote. If we succeed today,
we will stop China, the Chinese Communist Party specifically, from
continuing to circumvent U.S. trade laws and undermine U.S.
manufacturers.
If we fail to override this veto today, then Congress will hurt the
ability of American manufacturers to compete fairly.
I urge my Democrat colleagues: Please do not allow this to happen.
Join us in standing up for American jobs.
If you support American workers, then join us in overriding this
veto. We cannot stand by as this irresponsible proclamation allows
Chinese solar companies to flood our market with their products tariff-
free, hurting American jobs and industry.
President Biden's proclamation also sends the message to trade cheats
everywhere that the U.S. trade laws just don't matter. This invites
even more cheating which, in turn, hurts American workers.
A recent report from the Coalition for a Prosperous America reveals
so much about the priorities hidden in the Green New Deal agenda.
This report shows that Chinese manufacturers could earn nearly $125
billion in U.S. renewable energy tax credits because of the so-called
Inflation Reduction Act, aka the Green New Deal, as my colleague just
cited its true purpose.
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That is $125 billion from U.S. taxpayers that could now be going to
Chinese companies, all because the partisan Inflation Reduction Act
failed to include safeguards that prioritize American manufacturing.
I say to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who haven't
already joined us in this bipartisan effort, please join us. Join us in
prioritizing American manufacturers. Join us in stopping this giveaway
to the Chinese Communist Party. Hold the Chinese Communist Party
accountable.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a statement from Terry
O'Sullivan, the general president of LIUNA, the Laborers' International
Union of North America.
His statement is on behalf of a half million members of the Laborers'
International Union in strong opposition to this proposal: ``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 already on the books, within the renewable
energy industry, and it is now all at risk if the CRA is passed.''
LiUNA!,
Washington, DC, April 19, 2023
Hon. Jason Smith,
Chairman, House Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC.
Hon. Richard Neal,
Ranking Member, 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 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 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Thompson).
Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding and for his leadership in this policy area.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this legislation. As I said when
this legislation originally came to the floor, I share my colleagues'
goal of ensuring that our trade laws are fairly enforced, and I
certainly share our collective goal of promoting domestic manufacturing
and jobs.
However, if this bill were to become law, if the President's veto
were to be overridden, 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 throughout the United States. It would undercut the climate
change investments in the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest
investment in fighting climate change in the history of our country.
We all want solar products manufactured right here at home; but in
the short run, our domestic industry can't increase production rapidly
enough to meet demand or to meet our climate goals.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Posey).
Mr. POSEY. Mr. Speaker, China is cheating America. They know it. You
know it. I know it. Everybody knows it. China is avoiding the tariffs
both Presidents Obama and Trump agreed upon by shipping solar panels
through other countries in Southeast Asia and simply slapping a new
label on them.
It is an undeniable fact, investigated and verified by the U.S.
Department of Commerce. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the
CCP--the Chinese Communist Party--has detained more than 1 million
Uyghurs and other minorities in China's far western Xinjiang region.
An astounding 1 million people detained. To put that in perspective,
that is nearly the equivalent of every man, woman, and child in most of
our congressional districts. Many of these people have been forced into
labor camps and factories to produce goods for the Chinese Communist
Party loyalists to sell around the globe.
China produces 18 goods using forced or slave labor. Any use of slave
labor is morally wrong. We know that, and China is by far the world's
biggest offender.
Among the products produced by the Uyghurs and others through forced
labor are electronics and polysilicon, which is used to make solar
panels. Over 50 percent of the country's production of polysilicon
takes place in Xinjiang. Some of those solar panels are the very same
solar panels we are talking about here today.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, these are some of the
conditions that Uyghurs and others in China's western region face as
they make solar panels: They receive little pay; they are not allowed
to leave; they have limited or no communication with
[[Page H2574]]
their family members; and they must learn Mandarin and undergo an
ideological indoctrination. That is truly barbaric, and we shouldn't
sell out our production to help them.
The regulation in question violates both our laws about importing
products made with forced labor and enables these labor practices to
continue.
I feel sure everyone in this Chamber despises the evils of slavery
and slave labor. In a few minutes we will have the chance to see just
who talks the talk and who walks the walk. If we pass this resolution,
we can help put a stop to China's cheating and slave labor.
Make no mistake, people can still buy all the Chinese solar panels
that they want to buy. We are not stopping them from doing that. We are
not making solar panels unavailable. All we are saying is that they
have to pay a tariff. Pay the fair tariff that President Obama and
President Trump both agreed upon.
I would be remiss in not thanking some of my colleagues on the other
side of the aisle for cosponsoring this commonsense resolution and
working to make it bipartisan: The gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Kildee), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), the gentlewoman
from Alabama (Ms. Sewell), and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Khanna).
Please walk the walk and vote in favor of this resolution to put
American workers, American products, and the United States of America
first.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a statement from 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.
The statement indicates, among other things: ``Repealing President
Biden's proclamation will result in retroactive duties and tariffs that
would jeopardize 30,000 construction and 4,000 manufacturing jobs. . .
. We are not prepared to stand by and let some partisan dispute
eliminate Operating Engineers' jobs and slow the deployment of clean
energy.''
For immediate release: April 19, 2023.
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:''
``President Biden'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.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Davis).
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. 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 accounted 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
proclamation 10414 declared an emergency with respect to U.S.
electricity generation capacity by implementing a final rule that
permits the importation of select cells or modules without the payment
of antidumping and countervailing duty temporary for 24 months.
I urge my colleagues to stand with our President, who has shown such
great wisdom and leadership. Vote ``no'' on H.J. Res. 39.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, this veto override supports American workers and
manufacturers in the solar sector, but it also helps protect American
workers in every sector that face unfair competition from China or any
other country.
Our trade laws are designed to level the playing field so that
American workers can compete and win. We have hundreds of trade remedy
orders in place to do exactly that for many American industries.
These laws aren't worth the paper they are written on unless they are
enforced. Overriding this veto is an important way for Congress to show
that we will insist on strong trade enforcement for American workers,
farmers, and manufacturers of any product that faces unfair competition
from China or any other country.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman
from New York (Ms. Malliotakis).
Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Mr. Speaker, once again we are seeing a policy from
President Biden and the Democrats where they say one thing, and they do
another.
How many times have you heard the President talk about made in
America? How many times have you heard the Democrats talk about buy in
America? Yet here we are seeing another policy that does just the
opposite. It hurts American manufacturers. It hurts American jobs. It
is giving an advantage to not just a competitor, but an adversary.
Mr. Speaker, we support energy diversification. We support clean
energy, but we want it to be American energy, and we want it to be done
by American workers in manufacturing right here in the United States of
America. We want to support our domestic solar manufacturers, not
further discourage them from investing in manufacturing here.
Instead, we see the Democrats put forward another policy that instead
of supporting American labor, it supports Communist Chinese slave
labor, and we know this is often linked to the genocide of the Uyghur
Muslims. If you are going to use Chinese slave labor, then at least
have them pay a fair tariff, at least have them follow the same rules.
Don't put forward a rule that allows them to circumvent tariffs.
As you know, last year an American solar manufacturer petitioned the
Commerce Department to review whether Chinese producers were
circumventing tariffs on imports from China by shipping their products
through Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Lo and behold, in December of 2022, President Biden's own Commerce
Department made a preliminary determination that circumvention is,
indeed, happening through all of those countries.
That is why we must support the American worker today. We must
support manufacturing in America, and override this veto of a
resolution that, quite frankly, passed with bipartisan support here and
in the Senate, as well.
Look, this is an opportunity for us to stand with American energy
producers. Like I said, we support clean energy, we support
diversification, but we want it to be made here in America using
[[Page H2575]]
American products, supporting American jobs.
Mr. Speaker, I continue to urge my colleagues to support this joint
resolution to override the President's veto and do the right thing. We
are not going to allow the President to get away with this, to
constantly say made in America--he supports American workers, he says,
but then again, he puts forward another policy that does the exact
opposite. It hurts American people and is supporting the Communist
Chinese Party instead.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman from Staten Island has it backwards. The
fact is that there is a process underway to review the challenges of
the circumvention. There will be a report within the next year, but
what the President did was put a pause on that to allow American
industry to reorient and to catch up because otherwise they do not have
the capacity.
I quote a strong representative of working men and women, the general
president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of
America, Douglas McCarron: ``President Biden's proclamation saves
Carpenters' jobs and smooths the development of the domestic solar
manufacturing industry. Today, we are seeing the American manufacturing
sector respond to incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act and develop
homegrown solar modules.'' According to this international union
president, ``Now is not the time to disrupt the solar industry and lay
off thousands of union workers just as we are getting a foothold in the
burgeoning solar business.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Flint, Michigan
(Mr. Kildee), a strong and effective voice, for whatever he advocates.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this veto override
resolution to support the Michigan and American workers and to hold
those who violate U.S. trade laws accountable.
Let me be clear: I am proud to have worked with President Biden and
his administration on important new laws, new laws like the CHIPS and
Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, which I had a hand in
writing. These legislative victories have helped to bring back critical
manufacturing and to create good-paying American jobs.
However, on this particular issue, the President and I disagree.
For far too long, bad trade deals and unfair trade practices from
other countries have hurt American workers. I believe that we need to
enforce our current trade laws and strengthen our ability to fight
unfair trade practices.
{time} 1415
When companies explicitly endeavor to evade, to circumvent our trade
laws, there is no choice. We have to hold them accountable. That is why
Congress, with strong bipartisan votes in both the House and the
Senate, acted on our legislation.
The Biden administration's own Commerce Department investigation
found that companies are evading U.S. tariffs on solar imports by
circumventing those provisions. Yet, the administration has suspended
enforcement on this matter. That is not acceptable to the specific
workers that I represent because, let's keep in mind, we have to be
thinking about the entirety of the supply chain when it comes to solar
energy production, including polysilicon production.
By suspending tariffs on those that violate our trade laws, we are
rewarding the worst behavior and penalizing those companies that choose
to follow the law. Failing to act will mean that other countries will
think they can simply take advantage of American business and the
American worker, making us more reliant on foreign manufacturing and
supply chains, including for our clean energy needs.
Climate change is real. Addressing climate change is important, and
fair trade is important. We can't be shortsighted in our efforts and
rely on foreign companies and countries to meet our energy goals,
especially when they have been found to be in violation of U.S. trade
laws. It is a false choice. It is a false choice to suggest that we can
either choose to combat climate change or protect American
manufacturers and American workers. We can do both.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' to override
this veto and to hold those companies, those bad actors, accountable.
This is not simple. It is difficult, but we do need to make sure----
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the
gentleman from Michigan.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to finish my
point.
There will always be an argument to look the other way, to get
cheaper products by looking the other way when it comes to some of the
worst practices in manufacturing on this planet. Of course, it is going
to be cheaper to look the other way when workers are being exploited,
when intellectual property is being stolen, when child labor is being
utilized. It will always be cheaper, but it is wrong.
We can do both. We don't have to make the sacrifice of one principle
in the name of the other. We can't take the position that for only 24
months, we are going to look the other way, and then we are going to go
back to adhering to both of these principles.
We can do both. I encourage my colleagues to join me in doing so.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, there are few times that I would
have yielded time to the gentleman from Michigan, but I would have for
that opportunity to finish.
Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues on the other side of the aisle know
well, the Chinese Communist Party has an egregious human rights record.
There is a clear connection between these human rights abuses and the
CCP's solar industry.
Mr. Speaker, I call attention to the full and complete testimony of
Nury Turkel, a Uyghur human rights lawyer and chair of the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom, which was held before
the Committee on Ways and Means during a field hearing in Staten
Island, New York, on May 9, 2023, titled: ``Trade in America: Securing
Supply Chains and Protecting the American Worker--Staten Island. The
testimony can be found on the Ways and Means Committee website.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Turkel's testimony highlights the ongoing human
rights abuses and religious persecution being perpetrated against
Uyghurs by the Chinese Communist Party.
I am disappointed that President Biden vetoed this important
resolution. This is unacceptable. We must step up to hold China
accountable for its human rights abuses.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
Mr. Speaker, there was a reference about false choices. Well, it is a
false choice that we adhere to our interests and goals at the expense
of throwing out of work thousands of American union workers and
disrupting opportunities to smooth the supply chain.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a statement from 10 leading
environmental organizations that says: ``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 solar
companies deploying clean energy, and job stability for those workers
installing panels.''
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
[[Page H2576]]
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.
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, somebody listening from the sidelines
would think that there is a great deal of disagreement between my
honorable friend from Missouri and me. That is not the case. We share
many of the same goals, as he knows, with legislation that I am
proposing to try to rein in some of the egregious abuses of the
Chinese.
What we are disagreeing about today is to undercut a process that is
working with the Department of Commerce for accountability. The goal
here is for another year to be able to work the process through. I have
no doubt that we are going to end up essentially in the same place but
without compromising the ability of organized labor and workers to be
able to have jobs without undercutting the opportunity for the
businesses to be able to cope with these changed circumstances and to
be able to develop a supply chain, which you cannot do overnight. But
over the course of the next year or so, we can make significant
progress. That is our goal. We don't think that we have to punish
American companies and American workers to achieve that goal.
I am convinced that over the course of the next year, we will be
largely in the same place after that process is finished with the
Department of Commerce. In the meantime, we are not going to have
American workers and businesses pay the price for this, frankly,
unfortunate demonstration of political messaging. We want to reach the
same goal. We don't want to punish workers and industry while we get
there.
Having this additional year requested by the Biden administration
that would be achieved by sustaining his veto is a reasonable outcome
and I think gets us where we want to be.
Mr. Speaker, I respectfully suggest that we reject this resolution,
allow the process to work, do not penalize American workers, and
strengthen supply chains so that a year and a half from now, we can, in
fact, be in the same place, having a robust domestic industry and
enforcing our goals and objectives.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
For years, China has been engaged in a long list of unfair trade
practices. It is these practices that are harming American workers.
They cost communities their jobs and create an unfair playing field.
We are here today to end the misguided reward that the White House
gave China for one of those unfair practices: shipping solar products
through four Southeast Asian nations to dodge paying U.S. tariffs.
That is simply what we are talking about here. That is it. That is
how you protect American workers.
It is not allowing the Chinese, the CCP, to have a competitive
advantage over our manufacturers and over our American workers. But if
it is for solar panels, wait, it is okay for the Chinese to subsidize
that. It is okay for American workers to lose their jobs unfairly
because we don't want to put a tariff on the CCP.
It is extremely important that even the Department of Commerce,
President Biden's Department of Commerce, is the one that suggested
there should be tariffs on these four countries because they are the
ones that identified these four countries being misused by the CCP.
That is what we are trying to do, is to follow Biden's Department of
Commerce. Unfortunately, Biden himself is not even following his own
Department of Commerce because he is more on the side of his special
interest groups instead of the American workers who are losing their
jobs because this resolution, his veto, basically allows more Chinese
solar panels in without tariffs, and they are not doing anything about
it.
That is why, in a bipartisan measure, both in the House and in the
Senate, we voted to reverse President Biden, including the Finance
Committee chair over on the other side, a Democrat, who voted to
reverse the President's proposal.
The problem is we don't have enough Democrats that will join us. We
have just a few, but I am thankful for the few who want to stand up to
the CCP.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is
ordered.
There was no objeciton.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is, Will the House, on
reconsideration, pass the joint resolution, the objections of the
President to the contrary notwithstanding?
Under the Constitution, the vote must be by the yeas and nays.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question
are postponed.
____________________