OFC Executive Director Nick Stark: Oregon Should Not Subsidize Slave Labor to Push the Clean Energy Agenda
OFC Executive Director Nick Stark Testified this week on HB 2425, which requires the State of Oregon to obtain certification that any electric vehicles it purchases do not contain components produced using forced labor or child labor.
Chair Grayber, Vice-Chair Elmer, Vice-Chair Muñoz, Members of the Committee,
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Nick Stark, and I am the Executive Director of Oregon Freedom Coalition. OFC is an Oregon nonprofit operating as a 501(c)(4) organization, currently awaiting federal tax status. We are dedicated to the promotion of economic freedom, personal responsibility, public safety, educational excellence, environmental stewardship, traditional family values, and equality of opportunity throughout the State of Oregon.
I am testifying in support of HB2425, as it is critical legislation that ensures Oregon taxpayer dollars are not used to subsidize human rights abuses and environmental devastation.
Oregon has long stood for fairness, human dignity, and responsible stewardship of our natural resources. Yet today, without this legislation, our state may be inadvertently funding modern slavery and environmental destruction—all in the name of so-called “clean” transportation.
Forced Labor in EV Supply Chains
Many of the electric vehicles on the market today contain materials sourced from forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, where Uyghur and other Muslim minorities are subjected to detention, coercion, and forced labor in a massive system of state oppression. The U.S. government has recognized this, passing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) with overwhelming bipartisan support. Under this law, goods from Xinjiang are presumed to be made with forced labor unless proven otherwise.
Unfortunately, this forced labor is directly linked to electric vehicle production, particularly in the mining and processing of critical minerals used in lithium-ion batteries. These materials are not just sourced unethically—they are mined, refined, and assembled under conditions that defy international human rights standards.
The Hidden Cost of Cobalt: Child Labor and Environmental Disaster
But this is not just a problem in China. There is a second humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the majority of the world’s cobalt is extracted. Cobalt is an essential component in EV batteries, and the demand for it is skyrocketing.
However, that demand comes at a horrifying cost.
An estimated 40,000 children, some as young as six, work in Congolese cobalt mines, digging by hand in dangerous, toxic conditions.
These children suffer severe health issues, including respiratory diseases and heavy metal poisoning from prolonged exposure to toxic dust and chemicals.
Reports describe them working 12-hour days for less than a dollar, with no safety protections.
And while the human suffering is appalling, the environmental catastrophe unfolding in these mining regions is just as alarming.
Massive deforestation and soil erosion have left once-fertile land barren.
Toxic runoff from mining operations has contaminated rivers, poisoning drinking water and devastating local ecosystems.
In some areas, mining-related pollution has rendered entire villages uninhabitable.
These are not the practices of a so-called “clean energy future.” They are the hallmarks of a reckless, exploitative supply chain that destroys communities and ecosystems for the sake of cheap battery materials.
Why Oregon Must Act Now
The federal government has already acknowledged these issues:
In 2024, federal EV tax credits were restricted for vehicles containing battery components from “foreign entities of concern” like China.
The U.S. Department of Labor has officially recognized that lithium-ion batteries, including those in EVs, may be linked to child labor.
But federal enforcement is slow, and Oregon cannot afford to wait. This bill ensures that our state does not fund forced labor or environmental devastation with taxpayer dollars.
A Practical, Ethical, and Enforceable Solution
To be clear, HB2425 does not ban electric vehicles. It simply ensures that Oregon does not procure EVs from manufacturers that cannot verify ethical supply chains.
It requires manufacturers to certify, under oath, that no forced labor or child labor was used at any stage of production.
If they lie, there are real consequences—civil penalties, financial accountability, and enforcement mechanisms to hold violators responsible.
This bill is not just about human rights. It is about basic accountability for taxpayer dollars. Oregonians should not be forced to subsidize modern slavery, child labor, or environmental destruction in pursuit of government fleet electrification.
A Call to Action
We must ask ourselves: Are we truly transitioning to a cleaner, more ethical future, or are we just shifting the costs onto the backs of exploited workers and devastated landscapes thousands of miles away?
Oregon has an opportunity to lead. We can stand for ethical sourcing, human dignity, and responsible environmental stewardship—or we can ignore these abuses and allow our tax dollars to fuel modern slavery, to fuel child labor, to fuel environmental destruction.
The choice is clear. I urge you to pass this legislation and ensure that Oregon takes a principled stand against forced labor, child exploitation, and environmental devastation.
Thank you, and I am happy to take any questions.