President Joe Biden signed the massive $739 billion Inflation Reduction Act into law late last year after it was supported by Democrats like West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.
However, Manchin is now accusing Biden of having perpetrated a bait and switch when it comes to the law's provisions regarding electric vehicles.
According to an opinion piece published on Friday by the Wall Street Journal's editorial board, the White House is being accused of "essentially rewriting last year’s Inflation Reduction Act so more electric vehicles will qualify for subsidies."
Manchin negotiated subsidy restrictions, partly to keep the affluent from accessing them but also to ensure that an increasing share of vehicle batteries contain minerals mined or processed either in the U.S. or a country with which America has a free trade deal.
A significant portion of minerals used in electric vehicle production are currently mined and processed in China, something Manchin noted in a statement.
"Yet again – the guidance released by the Department of the Treasury completely ignores the intent of the Inflation Reduction Act," Manchin complained.
"It is horrific that the Administration continues to ignore the purpose of the law which is to bring manufacturing back to America and ensure we have reliable and secure supply chains," he continued.
"American tax dollars should not be used to support manufacturing jobs overseas," the West Virginia lawmaker went on to insist.
"It is a pathetic excuse to spend more taxpayer dollars as quickly as possible and further cedes control to the Chinese Communist Party in the process," Manchin stressed.
"The guidance includes a 60-day comment period and I ask for every American to comment. My comment is simple: stop this now – just follow the law," he concluded.
This is not the only time Manchin has taken issue with the Biden administration, as this past Wednesday he authored an op-ed of his own for the Journal which alleged that the president of has committed "betrayal."
The president has the power, today, to direct his administration to follow the law, as well as to sit down with congressional leaders and negotiate meaningful, serious reforms to the federal budget. Read more in @WSJ: https://t.co/D1BnWPBZAW
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) March 29, 2023
In it he called the possible debt ceiling crisis "another needless emergency" which is "a result of the inaction of various actors who refuse to confront fiscal reality, sit down, negotiate and make hard decisions for the sake of our nation’s future."
Manchin declared that "recent actions make clear to me that the Biden administration is determined to pursue an ideological agenda rather than confront the clear and present danger that debts and deficits pose to our nation."
