In his bid to cover up his economic and energy mismanagement, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act.
This aims to increase America’s reliance on green energy, specifically social power, to “spur domestic manufacturing.”
Republicans are considering this measure of Biden as a constitutionally corrupt practice to hide his poor performance.
Biden Using the Act as Last Resort For Political Gains
Right after invoking the act, Biden started drawing criticism for his reliance on the measure as a last resort.
Congressman Byron Donalds of the Republican Party asserted it is a matter of “concern” for Americans that the president is misusing the act irresponsibly.
The Defense Production Act is not a tool for government to manipulate the market. It's supposed to be used when the nation needs to reorder priorities to defend ourselves.
— GrilledTomatoes (@TomatoesGrilled) June 6, 2022
Since his inauguration, Biden has been forcing Congress to pass his climate agenda and reduce taxes on clean energy technologies. However, the president has not received any favorable news from Congress, amid political polarization on the issue.
Thus, Biden decided to make a solo flight to “create a bridge” to get the “clean energy future.”
With the help of the Defense Production Act, Biden empowered the Department of Energy to increase America’s production of many solar power components, including photovoltaic modules.
Similarly, the department would also be able to increase domestic production of heat pumps and other equipment capable of making and processing clean electricity-generated fuels.
According to an anonymous senior official of the Biden administration, this measure will increase the pace of ongoing construction projects in the country and create high-paid jobs as well.
Furthermore, the official added, the burden on consumers would also be reduced as alternate energy products are cheaper, compared to traditional resources.
The unnamed official also asserted it would help the administration tackle rising “environmental injustice” in the country.
President Biden invokes the Defense Production Act to increase U.S. manufacturing of solar panels and declares a two-year exemption on tariffs on panels from Southeast Asia. He's trying to jumpstart an industry key to his goals for fighting climate change. https://t.co/XeaYwXsFzT
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 6, 2022
Biden Desperate to Lure Progressive Voters
The Defense Production Act was enacted in 1950 and has been invoked over 50 times.
However, the act will not focus on government-only projects. Instead, it will be based on public-private partnership; the government will facilitate private investors to pour their money into green energy.
Similarly, the mutual cooperation between different private stakeholders would also be increased in order to maximize the gains under the act.
The government believes re-invoking the Defense Production Act would help the country cap rising inflation, amid the Russia Ukraine war.
This also reduced Democrats’ chances of winning the 2022 elections.
Thus, the official added, the president is also urging Congress in parallel to pass his green agenda that seeks to introduce tax cuts on green manufacturing and approve investments in the sector.
Biden even ordered the development of two important tools under the new plan. Included in these tools are the master supply agreements and super preferences.
While the first one streamlines the process for manufacturers to make and sell the solar power equipment to the government, the latter will oversee the procurement of the solar systems to the federal government.
Reportedly, the administration is aiming to increase the solar manufacturing capacity of the country by 2024 via cooperation with state and even local governments.
