Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Darin LaHood (IL-16) – a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Select Committee on China – joined Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (MI-02), Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02), and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) in reintroducing the bipartisan No Official Giveaways of Taxpayers’ Income to Oppressive Nations (NO GOTION) Act. This legislation prohibits companies affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from qualifying for green energy production tax credits implemented by the Biden-Harris administration through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). If this bill is signed into law, it would prohibit any company based in China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea, and the subsidiaries of those companies from benefiting from these tax credits.
“The Chinese Communist Party is working to replace the United States every day and as we continue to find ways to better protect U.S. businesses and workers from that effort, the least we can do in the short term is ensure we aren’t allowing CCP-affiliated competitors to benefit from our federal tax incentives,” said Rep. LaHood. “As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Select Committee China, I will not allow hard-working American taxpayers to fund the CCP’s development of energy and critical technologies that will be used to harm the United States. The NO GOTION Act will ensure that companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, Russia, Iran, and North Korea cannot, in any way, benefit from the energy incentives in our tax code. I look forward to working alongside President Trump and my colleagues in Congress to promote pro-growth tax policy that supports American businesses, protect our national security, and cement U.S. leadership on the world stage.”
“The NO GOTION Act is a commonsense, bipartisan measure that prohibits our adversaries from benefitting from the tax dollars of hardworking American families, and right now there is a loophole that allows IRA tax credits to go to Chinese companies. This legislation closes that loophole and makes sure CCP-affiliated companies will not be able to receive tax credits. The United States is in competition with the CCP and under no circumstance should we be giving taxpayer money to Chinese companies,” said Moolenaar.
“America’s push for domestic manufacturing should not be exploited for our adversaries’ gain,” Golden said. “These manufacturing credits are designed to strengthen our economy, and closing a loophole that allows them to be used to benefit China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea is a goal that all of us should be able to share. I’m proud to join a bipartisan coalition to fix this problem and ensure federal dollars aren’t being spent to enrich those who would undermine America.”
Senator Rick Scott said, “U.S. adversaries shouldn’t be allowed to benefit off American taxpayer dollars with incentives meant to build American businesses. Americans elected us to represent their best interests, and I’m proud to do that with our NO GOTION Act to crack down on companies owned by our adversaries attempting to take advantage of U.S. tax subsidies.”
Background:
No Official Giveaways of Taxpayers’ Income to Oppressive Nations Act comes as a response to Gotion Inc., a subsidiary of the CCP-affiliated Gotion High-Tech plans to build battery factories in Illinois and Michigan, which would likely qualify for the tax credits under the IRA.
In September 2022, Gotion Inc.’s plans were initially approved by local leaders to build a battery component factory in Mecosta County, Michigan. In September 2023, Gotion Inc. announced plans to build a similar factor in Manteno, Illinois.
In a Foreign Agents Registration Act filing, Gotion Inc. claimed it was “wholly owned and controlled by” Gotion High-Tech, which is based in China. According to Gotion High-Tech’s bylaws, it is required “to carry our Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the [Chinese Communist Party].”
In October 2024, Rep. LaHood, Chairman Moolenaar, and Rep. Jim Baird (IN-04) held a roundtable in Manteno with community stakeholders where they discussed the implications of Gotion Inc.’s ties to the CCP, its link to slave labor, and the battery plant’s threat to Illinoisians and U.S. national security. A recording of the roundtable can be found HERE.
In June 2024, Rep. LaHood and colleagues in the House and Senate sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security regarding evidence revealing that Gotion Inc. utilizes CCP state-sponsored slave labor and perpetrates the ongoing Uyghur genocide. The full text of the letter can be found HERE.
The legislative text of the NO GOTION Act can be found HERE. The legislation is cosponsored in the House by Representatives Mike Bost (R-IL), Jack Bergman (R-MI), Tim Walberg (R-MI), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), John James (R-MI), Tom Barrett (R-MI), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Ben Cline (R-VA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), David Rouzer (R-NC), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Rick Allen (R-GA), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Gary Palmer (R-AL), Brad Finstad (R-MN), Greg Murphy (R-NC), and Neal Dunn (R-FL) .
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