On Wednesday, a Republican led measure narrowly made its way through the Senate, intending to sever Beijing’s ties to the supply chain for electric vehicle chargers. However, the White House contends that the measure, despite its intentions, would have the opposite effect. The Congressional Review Act resolution, S.J. Res. 38 (118), received support from Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), as well as some Republicans, resulting in a 50-48 vote. Notably, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voted against the resolution.
The White House has firmly declared its intention to veto the resolution passed on Wednesday, a move aimed at overturning a rule that temporarily exempts certain domestic content requirements for federally funded electric vehicle charging stations. a Republican led measure
Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the resolution’s sponsor, emphasized the need for accountability in taxpayer spending, stating, “If we’re going to spend $5 billion of taxpayer money to build electric vehicle charging stations in the United States, it should be made by Americans, in America, using American products.”
Contrastingly, some Democrats argued that scrapping the rule would revert EV charger sourcing requirements to a broad waiver from 1983, resulting in fewer restrictions against foreign-made products. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) expressed concern, stating, “If you eliminate this rule, as the Rubio resolution would do, it would remove all Buy America restrictions for EV charger purchases, allowing federal taxpayer dollars to buy chargers from China.”
Both the United Steelworkers and the White House echoed this sentiment, warning that the resolution, if enacted, would weaken Buy America requirements and permit federal funds, including $7.5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to be spent on chargers manufactured in competitor nations like the People’s Republic of China.