Democrats might drop union bonus for electric vehicle credit - Roll Call

The House’s reconciliation bill would grant up to $7,500 in tax credits for buying electric vehicles, but those credits would increase by an additional $4,500 if the vehicle’s final assembly takes place at a U.S. facility operating under a union-negotiated collective bargaining agreement. Manchin said last week while visiting a Toyota facility in his home state that he opposes the union bonus.

“This can’t happen. It’s not who we are as a country. It’s not how we built this country, and the product should speak for itself,” Manchin said, according to Automotive News. “We shouldn’t use everyone’s tax dollars to pick winners and losers. … Hopefully, we’ll get that … corrected.”

Neal said he’d consider a potential compromise that would allow the bonus credit for any electric vehicles assembled in the U.S., not just those subject to collective bargaining agreements. “I’d be open to something along those lines, yeah,” he said.

The electric vehicle provision is one of several that top Democrats are still negotiating in response to Manchin’s concerns, including a new paid leave benefit in the House bill. Neal said he spoke to Manchin on Monday about that issue and believes there’s a “good shot” of retaining it.

House vote timing

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said the chamber would begin debating the roughly $2 trillion package Wednesday while lawmakers are waiting on additional cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. A handful of moderate Democrats are withholding their support for the bill until they see if the CBO numbers align with preliminary estimates from the White House.

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