U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), said in a statement that he was "stunned" it took as long as it did for the Biden administration to retract a multimillion-dollar grant from a Texas-based company with ties to China.
Barrasso, a ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, made the comment in a statement issued May 22, shortly after the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it wouldn't be giving a $200 million grant to Microvast Holdings Inc., an electric vehicle battery company headquartered in Stafford, Texas.
"The Department of Energy has finally retreated from sending U.S. taxpayer dollars to Microvast, an electric vehicle battery company with close ties to Communist China," Barrasso said in the statement. "I'm stunned it took the Biden Administration this long to admit the obvious: no company beholden to Communist China should be considered for U.S. government grants or loans."
Microvast shouldn't be the only company excluded from federal funding, according to Barrasso.
"The administration should immediately reject other applicants with similar ties," he said. "It should also overhaul its grant-making process and conduct due diligence before issuing press releases."
Barasso's comments were reported by various news outlets, including Fox News, which referred to the Biden administration's decision as "an unexpected reversal." FoxNews reported last year on Microvast's ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Microvast had been one of 20 U.S. companies selected by the DOE to receive part of $3 billion in battery-manufacturing grant funding. Although Microvast's promotes its batteries as "American-made," 69% of the company's revenue comes from China, with only 3% coming from the U.S., Fox News reported.
House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) called the DOE's decision to deny Microvast the funding "a win for taxpayers and American businesses" in his own statement issued May 22.
"On no account should our tax dollars be funding a company with 'substantial' ties to the Chinese Communist Party," Lucas said in the statement. "These funds are intended to strengthen America's battery production and supply chain, not to tighten China’s stranglehold on these supplies."
Lucas said he was pleased with the reversal "but incredibly frustrated that it took the Department six months and multiple letters from our Committee to come to such an obvious conclusion."
"We'll continue to hold the Administration accountable for its funding decisions and ensure that American taxpayer dollars are protected from exploitation by the CCP," Lucas said.
