Mike Thompson: “I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership in this policy area. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership in this policy area. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this legislation. As I said when this legislation originally came to the floor, I share my colleagues' goal of ensuring that our trade laws are fairly enforced, and I certainly share our collective goal of promoting domestic manufacturing and jobs. However, if this bill were to become law, if the President's veto were to be overridden, it would cost, not create, American jobs. In the long run, it would make it harder, not easier, for our country to become energy independent. This bill would make it impossible to deploy solar energy quickly enough throughout the United States. It would undercut the climate change investments in the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest investment in fighting climate change in the history of our country. We all want solar products manufactured right here at home; but in the short run, our domestic industry can't increase production rapidly enough to meet demand or to meet our climate goals. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation.”