A group of over a dozen Democratic senators, including Sen. Alex Padilla, have sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen advocating for the relaxation of guidelines surrounding federal tax subsidies for the hydrogen industry. The current guidelines, which emphasize the use of new clean energy in hydrogen projects, are seen as potentially hindering investment and the development of a sustainable domestic clean hydrogen industry. The senators argue that the stringent requirements may impede efforts to significantly reduce carbon emissions across the economy. The letter proposes alternative approaches to the current guidelines, such as allowing minimally emitting electricity sources to supply power to hydrogen producers and introducing a commence-construction standard similar to that used for the solar tax credit. By suggesting these revisions, the senators aim to foster a more conducive environment for investment in clean hydrogen projects and ensure the economic viability of cleaner forms of hydrogen. The senators highlighted the importance of revising the guidelines to avoid jeopardizing billions of dollars of investment in the hydrogen sector and to prevent the cleanest forms of hydrogen from becoming economically impractical. They underscored the potential risk to efforts aimed at decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors of the economy if the guidelines are not adjusted to facilitate growth in the clean hydrogen industry. Overall, the senators' letter emphasizes the necessity of creating a regulatory framework that supports the establishment of a sustainable domestic clean hydrogen industry capable of contributing significantly to the reduction of economy-wide carbon emissions.