It's not often that Adolf Hitler is mentioned in a Department of Energy spending debate, but Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) invoked the name of the Nazi dictator last night in calling for the defunding of a clean energy research partnership with China.

Rohrabacher's amendment to the House Energy and Water appropriations bill, which is set to be voted on this afternoon, would block DOE from spending about $37 million over the next five years on the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC). The effort, which was unveiled by President Obama during a state visit to China in late 2009, was designed to spawn new inventions and encourage collaboration on clean energy ventures.

But considering China's poor human rights record, its attempts to undermine U.S. manufacturing sectors and the poor state of the U.S. economy, Rohrabacher called the project "as nutty as it gets."

"I'm opposed to cooperation with the Adolf Hitlers of our day, the people who are murdering Christians and other religious people as we speak," the California lawmaker said. "No, we should not be cooperating with that government in developing their technologies, whether it's energy or otherwise."

CERC has so far focused its efforts on energy efficiency, advanced coal technologies and clean vehicle projects. The United States has committed to funding half of CERC's $150 million, five-year budget, with grantees matching the money put in by the government. CERC funding supports work being done at 15 universities and research centers around the country.

Companies that collaborate on research and development projects through CERC can enter into commercial contracts. But energy technology companies participating in the program must negotiate licenses that ensure both nations benefit (ClimateWire, Nov. 29, 2011).

But Rohrabacher questioned why the United States would want to subsidize Chinese development of clean energy when U.S. companies have the potential to capture the global market while China has repeatedly been accused of participating in economic espionage.

Rohrabacher's amendment was opposed on the House floor last night by his fellow Republican, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (N.J.), who chairs the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee.

Frelinghuysen called CERC a "proper role for federal funds" and a program that directly benefits the United States.

He said he agrees that the United States needs to protect its intellectual property and manufacturing, but he added that CERC addresses those concerns through agreements to protect those assets while allowing U.S. companies to take advantage of new joint discoveries.

"Eliminating these centers altogether would harm American researchers, American scientists, American innovation and American job creation," Frelinghuysen said.

'Concerted effort'

But Rohrabacher was adamant that China has shown little desire to play by international trade rules. As proof, the Californian pointed to an ongoing Commerce Department solar trade case. The case was initiated last fall by a group of U.S. manufacturers that argued that the Chinese government was illegally subsidizing its domestic solar industry and that Chinese manufacturers of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells were dumping their products on the U.S. market at artificially low rates.

Commerce has issued preliminary rulings in favor of the U.S. manufacturers on both charges and opened the door for heavy tariffs in excess of 30 percent. The case isn't expected to be finalized until later this fall.

Rohrabacher added that 66 Chinese producers were named in Commerce's preliminary ruling last month, "which suggests this is a concerted effort to undermine the United States market."

The trade case, which is being led by SolarWorld Industries America and a handful of smaller U.S. solar firms, is not universally supported by the U.S. solar sector. A coalition of U.S. and Chinese manufacturers and U.S. installers has argued that the case has launched a solar trade war as China ramps up its own anti-subsidy and anti-dumping investigations of U.S. efforts.

"Unless cooler heads prevail, American solar companies could face even more direct and collateral damage than the 30 percent tax imposed on many of them last month," Jigar Shah, president of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, said today.

Shah called for a global free-trade agreement in clean tech that ensures "open market access and a level playing field for everyone."