On September 13th, SAFE and EC Founder and CEO Robbie Diamond and EC Executive Director Ben Prochazka joined a gathering at the White House invited by President Biden to celebrate the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This event punctuated a series of SAFE/EC achievements for this congressional session.
The IRA, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and the CHIPS Act covered many energy, transportation, infrastructure, and supply chain challenges. Throughout this legislative session, our staff helped advance and shape these critical policies to reduce our dependence on oil while accelerating the shift towards electrified transportation built in the U.S. and allied countries.
We recognize that getting bills signed into law is but a first step. Before the proverbial ink is even dry on these bills, we are working with key stakeholders to ensure the laws’ key provisions will achieve their intended objectives. We have organized our efforts into three categories – FIX, DEFEND, and IMPLEMENT – described below, along with high-level select examples of each.
FIX
Remedy known shortcomings in these bills that could impair their implementation and impact.
- Modify battery sourcing requirements in Section 30D to make them more workable, including expanding the eligible countries and providing a more gradual ramp for sourcing provisions.
- Increase the funding to accelerate electric buses, the federal fleet, and the U.S. Postal Service fleet.
- Extend the deadline for new “fab” construction to be eligible for the CHIPS Act investment tax credit to 2032 or later.
DEFEND
Prevent the gains achieved through these bills from being eroded or reversed in the future.
- Demonstrate the broad economic and national security benefits of growing markets and supporting supply chains for electric transportation to prevent future legislative reversals.
- Invest Republicans in the success of the bill as they see job gains in their states and districts where the supply chains will be built as well as understand the economic and national security benefits.
IMPLEMENT
Engage aggressively to ensure that money and authorities are used expeditiously and wisely to achieve their intended goals.
- Shape Internal Revenue Service guidance for EV-related tax credits (Section 30D, 25E, 45W, and 30C) to enable the greatest number of consumers to claim the credit.
- Ensure that EV charging equipment and infrastructure programs are executed to promote maximum deployment.
- Engage industry and government across the supply chain from the mines all the way to the final battery assembly to ensure permitting is expeditious and money tackles key issues like processing and precursor material.
- Assist the Commerce Department’s CHIPs implementation by convening experts from industry and government to provide solutions to issues like guardrails on operations in China.
- Ensure Defense Production Act funding is available to buy down the cost of electricity for aluminum producers to allow their continued operations and re-opening within the U.S.
- Enable domestic aluminum producers to take advantage of the nearly $6 billion in total grants, loans, and rebates to adopt emissions-abating technologies at U.S. facilities.
- Pass complementary policies at the state and local level that will accelerate consumer adoption, freight, and fleets around the country.
- Coordinate with industry, government agencies, and other advocates to ensure the successful implementation of IRA and the bi-partisan infrastructure law.