by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that President Biden had ways to address Europe’s concerns about the Reduced Inflation Act without going to Congress.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested on Monday that President Biden would fix “glitches” in the Reduced Inflation Act to assuage European concerns without going to Congress.
The comments came in response to a reporter who asked if President Biden planned to issue executive orders to amend the IRA in response to criticism of the legislation from French officials over the weekend.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, December 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh / AP News Room)
Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration was working on a “substantive consultation with Europe” to fix “glitches” and address their concerns, reiterating comments he made last week.
“We have no plans to go back to Congress on that. But when it comes to [Europe’s] concerns, of course, we are going to have talks with our European allies,” Jean-Pierre said.
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Foreign officials have accused the IRA, approved in August, of being “protectionist”. French President Emmanuel Macron, who dined with Biden during a state visit last week, complained that subsidies intended to incentivize the production of semiconductors for electric vehicles have put European leaders at an unfair disadvantage.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Macron, Biden acknowledged that the $368 billion tax and spending bill may be “flawed” but generally defended what the White House sees as a hallmark achievement of his administration.
“Look, the United States does not apologize and I do not apologize, since I wrote it, for the legislation that you are talking about,” Biden said in response to a reporter’s question about the complaints.
President Joe Biden speaks about the Reduce Inflation Act of 2022 during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, September 13, 2022. The IRA was passed by Congress with partisan votes in both houses . (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik/AP News Room)
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“But there are times when you write huge legislation, and that has almost $368 billion for the largest investment in climate change in all of history, so obviously there are going to be failures.”
FOX Business’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
