Washington, DC – In response to the passage of the House’s budget reconciliation bill, SAFE Founder, President, and CEO Robbie Diamond issued the following statement:
“The House’s version of energy tax credits will hold back our energy industry and undermine our national security by creating scarcity when we need abundance and innovation. SAFE is aligned with the Trump administration’s pursuit of energy dominance, reshoring critical mineral supply chains, and reclaiming our global energy leadership—these changes to the tax code don’t advance these interests. We need longer timelines for deployment and smarter restrictions on foreign entities of concern to empower industry to deliver, build, and deploy the energy generation, industrial capacity, AI weaponry, and mineral processing capabilities of the future.
Hamstringing our industry is a gift to Beijing. We urge the Senate to restore the utility of these credits, which are national security investments that pay dividends in military readiness, industrial resilience, and technological control. Our adversaries won’t hold back on building the supply chains, energy systems, or grid needed for digital dominance in the military arena—neither should we.”
Twenty-three retired four-star Admirals and Generals of SAFE’s Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC) sent a letter to House leadership on May 8th arguing for the national security merits of these key credits, arguing that dilution or repeal would:
- Weaken supply chains for numerous defense, energy, and consumer technologies, all of which rely on secure access to critical minerals.
- Create opportunities for CCP-linked firms to enter the U.S. market and increase their global market share of key industries by eliminating important credits that enable American companies to compete while blocking foreign entities of concerns (FEOCs).
- Undermine U.S. grid deployment and energy resilience, by disincentivizing domestic manufacturing of components like transformers, conductors, and storage systems necessary for grid upgrades to meet rising demand while bolstering grid security against cyber and physical threats.
- Delay America’s ability to meet surging energy demand and modernize the grid, by weakening investment incentives for diverse, domestically sourced generation technologies including advanced nuclear, geothermal, and hydrogen while reinforcing U.S. manufacturing through domestic content incentives.
- Jeopardize more than $125 billion in announced investments across 15+ states including Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas, and Arizona.
- Put up to 100,000 direct jobs at risk and hundreds of thousands more when accounting for indirect impacts.
SAFE and the ESLC will continue working with lawmakers on energy policy solutions that support the nation’s economic and national security.
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About SAFE
SAFE is an action-oriented, nonpartisan organization committed to transportation, energy, and supply chain policies that advance the economic and national security of the United States, its partners, and allies. Since 2004, SAFE has worked with its Energy Security Leadership Council—a peerless coalition of current and former Fortune 500 CEOs and retired 4-star admirals and generals—to support secure, resilient, and responsible energy solutions. Learn more at SecureEnergy.org.
