WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) joined Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and other Senate colleagues in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging the Administration to allow critical mineral mining and processing activities to qualify for the 45X tax credit they passed in the Inflation Reduction Act.
In their letter, the Senators urge the Administration to ensure that raw materials and extraction costs are eligible for the 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit. The Department’s initial proposal to implement the credit explicitly excludes these costs, which sharply reduces the value of the tax credit. This update would allow the tax credit to support the entirety of the clean energy supply chain, including critical mineral mining and electric vehicle battery production that is happening in Nevada and across the U.S.
“As you know, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act in part to support the domestic extraction and production of critical minerals and materials, as well as the manufacturing of batteries and their components,” wrote the Senators. “… The clear purpose of section 45X was to encourage investment in the United States and to build a reliable and resilient domestic supply chain for critical minerals right here at home. The section 45X credit was designed to support responsible domestic mining and processing of these minerals. As members of the U.S. Senate we want to clarify that the blanket exclusion of materials costs is not consistent with the intent of Congress and should be expeditiously revised.”
“Private companies are ready and willing to invest in extraction and production of raw materials right here in the United States, and do so in a safe and responsible manner through developed environmental protection and labor standards,” the Senators’ letter continued. “However, by excluding the majority of the production costs from the 45X credit, Treasury would disincentivize investment in the United States, and also increase our reliance on countries that do not share our democratic or geopolitical values.”
The full letter can be found here.
Senator Rosen has been a leader in securing the domestic critical minerals supply chain and advocating for clean energy technologies. Last year, she led a bipartisan call for the National Science Foundation to provide an update on the implementation of the provision she secured in the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act to support the critical mineral mining industry and bolster the mining workforce. Senator Rosen also criticized the Biden Administration’s report on mining on federal lands, highlighting its lack of support for domestic mining and critical mineral supply chains. She has also helped introduce bipartisan legislation to protect critical mineral production in response to the misguided Rosemont decision, which is threatening mining projects in Nevada and across the West.
###
