Minutes of the Thorium-Fission Working Group Meeting on the So-Called Inflation-Reduction Act of 2022

[HLS Classmate]

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---------------------------- Original Message -----------------------------
Subject: Text of So-Called Inflation-Reduction Act of 2022 – ASAP Review
From: John Karls
Date: Mon, August 1, 2022 – 2:14 pm MDT
To: Members of the Revived Thorium-Fission Working Group
Attachment:
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Dear Friends,

Thank you for your prompt review of the text of the So-Called Inflation-Reduction Act of 2022.

This will comprise the minutes of our meeting just concluded – if anyone has any corrections or additions, please advise.


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Overall Comments

My e-mail of yesterday requesting an ASAP review of the text of the Act had said –

“Please hold for later any overall comments such as – (1) Whether the bill spends wisely the revenues it allegedly raises; (2) Whether the bill is ineffective because China and India, the world’s two larges carbon polluters, aren’t required to do anything significant under the Paris Climate Accord for decades and, indeed, China is bringing on stream a new monster-size coal-fired electric-generation plant every week; (3) Etc.”

We agreed in our meeting just concluded that --

(1) The bill does NOT spend wisely the revenues it allegedly raises for a plethora of reasons;
(2) The bill is ineffective vis-à-vis Global Warming (aka Climate Change) because of China and India; and
(3) The bill IS FRAUDULENT in claiming to reduce inflation since it “plays the standard Washington game” of taking into account 10 years’ worth of revenue gains WHILE ONLY PROVIDING THAT THE “GIVE-AWAYS” (which primarily take the form of income-tax credits) WILL ONLY LAST 3 YEARS – SECURE IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT A FUTURE CONGRESS WILL PREVENT THEM FROM EXPIRING!!!

Simple math --

If the TOTAL “GIVE-AWAYS” (called “investments” in Washington-speak) of $433 billion are multiplied by 10/3 to calculate their 10-year total since they are virtually guaranteed not to expire after 3 years, the Total REAL “Give-Aways” should be $1.433 TRillion – for a Total Deficit INCREASE averaging $143 Billion/Year.

HOWEVER, after marveling briefly over how stupid our pols think “we-the-people” are, we agreed that this was NOT our fight.


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Economic/Safe Thorium-Fission vs. Uneconomic Wind/Solar

My e-mail of yesterday requesting an ASAP review of the text of the Act had said –

“The subsidies for wind/solar permeate the Bill to such an extent that it is NOT worthwhile to catalog all of them.

“Unfortunately, the old Washington saying is true that once a subsidy is started, it is impossible to kill it.

“It is respectfully suggested that we confine our review of the bill to ascertain whether there are any provisions that help or hinder nuclear energy in general or thorium-fission in particular.

“If there are any that hinder, we can discuss what action to take – which, since we are now 'in extremis,' would probably mean importuning Senate Democrats who have supported Bill Gates’

“(1) Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act which became law 1/14/2019, and

“(2) Nuclear Energy Leadership Act of 2019 which was introduced 3/27/2019 but did not pass the Senate 2019-2020 despite 22 co-sponsors including 9 Democrats – Cory Booker (NJ), Joe Manchin (WVa), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Christopher Coons (Del), Tammy Dickworth (Illinois), Michael Bennet (CO), Doug Jones (Ala), Benjamin Cardin (MD), and Mark Warner (Va).”

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There are many “give aways” for specific Democratic-Party constituents, such as poor communities and Native-American Tribes.

None of us were able to find any provisions that dealt with thorium-fission per se.

As usual, the major “give aways” related to Internal Revenue Code Sec. 45 and IRC Sec. 45J which provide income-tax credits for electricity generated from “green” fuels.

Re nuclear –

(1) Existing IRC Sec. 45J already provided a credit of 1.8 cents per kilowatt hour for some nuclear electric-generation facilities placed in service after 8/8/2005 and before 1/1/2021.

(2) Sec. 13105 of the so-called Inflation-Reduction Bill creates a brand-new Internal Revenue Code section (sec. 45U) which provides a credit of 3 cents per kilowatt hour for nuclear electric-generation facilities that did NOT qualify for the existing Sec. 45J credit AND ARE PLACED IN SERVICE BEFORE THE ENACTMENT OF THE SO-CALLED INFLATION-REDUCTION BILL.

Re wind and solar and other non-nuclear “green” fuels –

(1) Existing IRC Sec. 45 already provided a credit for electric-generation facilities using non-nuclear “green” fuels and for which construction began before 1/1/2022.

(2) Sec. 13105 increases the credit to 3 cents per kilowatt hour and Sec. 13101 EXTENDS IT TO FACILTIES WHOSE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS BEFORE 1/1/2025.

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Obviously, the so-called Inflation-Reduction Bill –

(1) Provides a credit of 3 cents per kilowatt hour for non-nuclear "green" energy sources for at least another 3 years and, presumably, into perpetuity IAW the Washington rule that “give aways” never terminate.

(2) Cuts off the credit for any new nuclear facilities – as probably the only exception to the Washington rule that “give aways” never terminate.

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Our Conclusion

We agreed that it is probably too late to defeat the so-called Inflation-Reduction Bill based solely on the DAMAGE IT DOES TO THE AMERICAN ECONOMY VIS-À-VIS CHINA ET AL. because of its discrimination against American nuclear power.

We did consider sending FedEx letters to the 9 Democrat Senators who supported the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act of 2019 whose names were listed in my e-mail of yesterday (as quoted above).

Any of them could easily defeat the bill without appearing to break ranks with a simple “sick out” – claiming to be quarantining after a non-existent positive COVID test since the Senate (unlike the House) does NOT have remote voting.

Nevertheless, we decided NOT to “die on this hill” but concentrate our efforts on the suggested target of the proposal to revive our Working Group (please see viewtopic.php?f=619&t=2221&sid=ca991f67 ... 173b5bcd92) of concentrating on “Republican Senators/Congress-persons who might support, if they assume power following the mid-terms, ‘turning the ship around’ from wind/solar to nuclear.”


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Thank you again for your prompt review of the text of the So-Called Inflation-Reduction Act of 2022.

And please let me know if you have any corrections or additions.

Respectfully submitted,

John Karls