House to vote on extending energy tax credits
The House of Representatives will try to take up legislation extending
renewable energy tax credits before lawmakers head out of town in the next
few days for the November elections campaign trail.
The House tax package, which may be voted on later on Thursday, is slightly
different from legislation passed by the Senate Tuesday, throwing into
question whether there is time to reach a final deal.
With Congress expected to adjourn in the next few days for the November
elections, time is running out for both chambers to pass a bill that can be
sent to the White House.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, warned House
lawmakers on Tuesday not to alter the bill the Senate passed.
"If they try to mess with our package, it will come back here, it will die,"
Reid said.
Charles Rangel of New York, the Democratic chairman of the House Ways and
Means Committee, urged the Senate to be more flexible.
"We can wrap this up today if they don't insist it's their way or the
highway," Rangel said. "They should not miss this opportunity to pass this
bill so we can make law and provide this tax relief to families and
businesses."
The White House threatened to veto the House bill in its current form.
Instead, the White House said Thursday it preferred the Senate tax extension
bill, which was part of a larger package that includes a measure raising the
income level at which Americans must pay the Alternative Minimum Tax.
Both the House and Senate bills would extend production tax credits for wind
energy for one year and investment tax credits for solar energy projects for
eight years. The bills also provide tax credits for purchasing plug-in
electric vehicles, though at different amounts.
Under the proposals, the 30 percent tax breaks for homeowners who purchase
residential solar energy equipment would be extended eight years.
The tax breaks in both bills are funded by limiting tax breaks for oil and
gas companies.
Unlike the Senate bill, however, 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.
Environmental groups oppose oil shale development in the West because of the
vast amount of water that would be used in states that have scarce water
resources.
Rep. Edward Markey, chairman of Select Committee on Energy Independence and
Global Warming, applauded House Democrats for not including the tax breaks
for fossil fuels.
"This bill before us invests in the renewable revolution that will transform
America," Markey 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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