Senator Debbie Stabenow has introduced a new bill that would provide billions in tax credits aimed at incentivizing auto manufacturers to make products that would reduce carbon emissions.
The senior Democrat introduced the American Jobs in Energy Manufacturing Act on Monday. She says the bill would provide support to the private sector in making the transition to clean energy in legacy manufacturing communities.
“So, it’s a matter of just taking the great skills that people have—the hard work and the ethics—and saying okay, ‘now let’s do this.’”
The bill, which Stabenow co-authored with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin would provide $4 billion for auto manufacturers and $4 billion for coal companies by giving them a 30% tax credit to retool or build new facilities for products that reduce carbon emissions.
“We don’t have to be having that come in from overseas. We don’t have to have China doing the majority of the solar panels or the majority of battery cells. We don’t have to do that—we can do that here. And these are great paying jobs, they’re union jobs.”
The Democrat says the bill is modeled after legislation she wrote in the 2009 economic crisis to buoy American manufacturing. Companies that make things like batteries, electric vehicles, or semiconductor chips will be eligible to apply.