Does the Clean Energy for America Act address human rights violations abroad?

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A Louisiana GOP senator was successful Wednesday in his efforts to change an energy bill to ban imports of clean energy components unless the United Nations can verify that they were not obtained by slave labor or child labor.

Senator Bill Cassidy attacked the Clean Energy Act for America sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Claiming it ignored human rights abuses in countries like China and the United States. Democratic Republic of Congo.

“The proposal would not only destroy well-paying middle-class jobs, but also exacerbate a dire humanitarian situation. The technologies this bill promotes come from countries with a long history of forced labor and child labor, ”Cassidy said.

The senator then quoted media information about the abuse.

“The New Yorker reports that in the Congo, ‘children as young as 3 are learning to extract the purest ore from boulders’ and’ children who work in mines are often drugged in order to suppress hunger. ‘ The article asks “Is your electric car the new blood diamond?” The Deseret News recently reported on slave labor in Congo’s cobalt mines, citing a mother as saying, “Our children are dying like dogs.” Meanwhile, the BBC reports that the solar panels imported from China to the United States were the result of the forced labor of an imprisoned Uyghur population.

At the Senate Finance Committee, where he introduced three amendments, Cassidy said the Clean Energy Act for America failed to respond to human rights violations.

“It turns a blind eye to slave labor and actually increases America’s dependence on the very nations that perpetuate it. I don’t think I have to say that the transition to an economy based on child labor slaves is not American, ”he said.

This amendment was adopted by a voice vote.

Two other Cassidy amendments, however, were blocked by Democrats in a 14-14 tie vote broken by Wyden’s rejection of the measures.

One of the changes would have limited the proposed expansion of the electric vehicle tax credit to only qualify for “non-luxury vehicles,” defined as those costing less than $ 47,500.

His other amendment would have required that in order to be eligible for the clean power generation credit, all components used in the construction of wind turbines, solar cells and energy storage technology must be manufactured or operated using of goods produced in a net zero emission manner verified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Cassidy criticized the Clean Energy America Act for killing jobs in the United States in favor of growing dependence on foreign nations.

“Personally, I would like to see us do more in the area of ​​energy tax. Climate change is an issue that we certainly have to consider. With the Louisiana coastline succumbing to erosion and sea level rise, and increasingly irregular weather hammering our state, I certainly understand, ”Cassidy said. “But pursuing policies like the ones in this bill will destroy jobs in Louisiana and send them to China and other countries that have worse environmental standards, worse standards, (and) increase global emissions.” It is pouring salt into the wound for the families of my state. “

Among other things, the law provides for an emission-based and technologically neutral tax credit for the production of clean electricity and provides that any new zero-emission installation can opt for either a tax credit for production up to ‘at 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour, for an investment tax. credit up to 30%.

In addition, it encourages the electrification of transport through long-term incentives for battery and fuel cell electric vehicles and the charging of electric vehicles and repeals tax incentives for fossil fuels, ensuring that the tax code does not reward than clean energy.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Listens to testimony from U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai as she testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday 12 May 2021 (Photo credit: Pete Marovich / The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Pete Marovich, The New York Times via AP

Wyden said the Clean Energy for America Act revises an outdated system of energy tax breaks.

“Today in federal tax books there is a mishmash of 44 energy tax breaks for a multitude of fuel sources and technologies. These tax breaks have piled up over decades like dusty old paper on the most messy desk in the office, ”he said. “The system is anti-competitive and anti-innovation. This puts the government in the role of picking winners and losers by giving some fuels and technologies significant permanent tax breaks, while others benefit from short-term temporary extensions.

The law was passed by an online party vote, garnering praise from supporters.

“All Democratic Senators voted in favor of Senator Wyden’s Clean Energy for America Act, which invests in new, clean electricity and the infrastructure we need to build a 100% clean future with well-paying jobs, breathable air and clean and a and a stable climate, ”said John Podesta, founder of the Center for American Progress.

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