Lawmakers to Vote on Extension of Energy Tax Credits
Posted on: Friday, 26 September 2008, 07:35 CDT
With Congress expected to adjourn in the next few days for the November elections, the House of Representatives will try to approve a bill on extending renewable energy tax credits before its members leave Washington.The House proposal, which may be put to a vote late Thursday, differs slightly from legislation passed by the Senate on Tuesday, casting doubt on whether a consensus can be reached in both chambers in time to pass a bill that can be sent to the President.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) warned the House on Tuesday not to alter the Senate bill.
"If they try to mess with our package, it will come back here, it will die," he said.
However, Charles Rangel (D-NY), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, called on the Senate to be more flexible.
"We can wrap this up today if they don't insist it's their way or the highway," said Rangel.
"They should not miss this opportunity to pass this bill so we can make law and provide this tax relief to families and businesses."
President Bush has threatened to veto the House bill in its current form, and on Thursday the White House said it preferred the Senate’s version of the bill. That version was part of a larger package that raises the income level at which Americans are required to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).
Both the Senate and House bills would extend production tax credits for wind energy for one year, and investment tax credits for solar energy initiatives for eight years. And each allows tax credits for those purchasing plug-in electric vehicles, albeit at different amounts.
The proposals also extend to eight years a 30 percent tax break for homeowners who purchase residential solar energy equipment. In both the House and Senate bills, tax cuts are funded by a reduction of tax breaks for oil and gas companies.
While there are many similarities, the two bills differ in some of their incentives. For instance, the House bill does not provide tax incentives for refineries to process oil from shale and tar sands or for projects that turn coal into liquid fuel, incentives included in the Senate bill.
Environmental groups are against oil shale development in the West due to the large amount of water that would be required in states that already have scarce water resources.
Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Rep . Edward Markey, praised House Democrats for excluding fossil fuels tax breaks.
"This bill before us invests in the renewable revolution that will transform America," he said.
"Electric cars, cellulosic biofuels, wind and solar (energy) will assert their energy independence over the coming years if the president signs this bill."
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Source: redOrbit staff
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