Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) led seven of their colleagues in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging the administration to allow critical mineral mining and processing activities to qualify for tax credits they passed in the Inflation Reduction Act.
In the 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 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,” they said. “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 text of the letter can be found here.
The letter is also signed by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
Through Senator Cortez Masto’s Innovation State Initiative, she has consistently worked to support Nevada’s critical mineral and battery supply chains and create good-paying clean energy jobs. She wrote important provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to promote Nevada’s mining and battery industries, set up a sustainable critical mineral supply chain, and help build out Nevada’s electric vehicle infrastructure. She has consistently blocked burdensome taxes on mining and introduced 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.
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