Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) The Superfund fee established in Public Law 117–58 makes American manufacturing less competitive by imposing a tax on chemicals used in domestic battery production that is not levied on imported batteries. (2) America’s lead battery industry has a manufacturing capacity of more than 165 GWh, a $23.6 billion domestic economic impact annually, and creates more than 25,000 direct jobs in 38 States. (3) Lead batteries have a 99 percent recycling rate and are a truly sustainable energy storage technology. (4) Lead batteries are critical for many sectors, including defense, transportation, logistics, telecommunications, and energy generation. (5) Increased taxes on domestic production create a disadvantage for American manufacturers and reduce the global competitiveness of the domestic lead battery industry by increasing the costs of key raw materials.