WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin said on Tuesday he was urging U.S. companies to sue the Treasury Department over the local content rules it set for companies to receive clean energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act .
"I'm encouraging every manufacturer to sue you, and I will do the amicus brief on behalf .... and you'll lose every suit," he said, holding up posters comparing the content requirements included in the legislation with those set in final rules by Treasury, which is implementing the IRA. The 76-year-old West Virginia lawmaker has been particularly incensed by Treasury's implementation of the IRA, arguing that its final local content rules have watered down the original intent of the bill and are hurting U.S. companies.
Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema were key votes on multiple pieces of legislation early in Democratic President Joe Biden's administration, including a massive infrastructure bill.