[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 57 (Thursday, April 10, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2832-S2833]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        GREEN ENERGY TAX CREDITS

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise this morning to talk about the 
Ensign-Cantwell amendment we are going to be voting on shortly.
  I thank the many cosponsors of the amendment, which I believe are 
somewhere in the 20 range, too many to read. With the actual Cantwell-
Ensign bill that was introduced last Thursday, I think we have over 40 
cosponsors. It is safe to say there has been much enthusiasm about this 
idea of moving forward on extending expiring green energy tax credits 
and doing so in a way that we can get the requisite votes we need for 
the measure to become law and be signed by the President.
  I also want thank Senators Baucus and Grassley for their continued 
focus on green energy tax credits, they understand that we need to move 
forward on leveling the playing field between the fossil fuel industry 
and making investments in green energy technology. I know the Finance 
Committee has had many conversations about this issue, and I am sure 
they will continue to make it a top priority.
  I particularly want to thank my colleague Senator Ensign of Nevada, 
with whom I have had an opportunity to work on several issues in the 
past such as protecting electricity consumers, ratepayers, from the 
Enron debacle, to now working with him on these green energy tax 
credits. I applaud him for standing up and taking the lead and 
understanding how renewable energy will play a key role in our Nation's 
economy moving forward, certainly the Nevada economy, and the need to 
provide a level playing field to keep this year's investment cycle 
going. Senator Ensign understands that, and I appreciate his leadership 
in getting the other side of the aisle to participate in the 
sponsorship of this amendment.
  I also want to thank Senator Reid who, being from Nevada, understands 
how important the solar energy and the green energy tax credits are for 
his State's economy, but he also understands the national economy 
depends on us moving off of fossil fuels. I appreciate his steadfast 
support in getting this legislation passed. We are fortunate to have 
Senator Reid on our side in the upcoming negotiations with the House, 
we need to make sure this legislation is actually passed by the House 
and signed into law.
  We are at this point because we believe the investments in green 
energy tax credits, production tax credits for wind and other 
renewables, investment tax credits for solar, fuel cells, and for other 
promising energy sources, and the efficiency tax credits that are in 
this legislation are stimulative. They are stimulative. We voted in 
this body to put them as part of a stimulus package, and the Senate 
Finance Committee said we think in addition to checks going to 
households, some activity that would keep investment and create jobs in 
2008 should be a priority.
  Mr. President, this is a stimulative measure that would keep about 
100,000 jobs and keep and protect about $20 billion of investments this 
year. That is why it is part of this underlying bill, and we hope the 
House will look at this

[[Page S2833]]

issue as stimulative activity, along with the accompanying housing 
measure.
  The reason why this is so urgent is because the end of the first 
quarter is here. Companies that are making these investment decisions 
are going to start issuing their first quarter reports, giving guidance 
as to the rest of the year and their investments. If we do not make it 
clear as a Congress that we believe in these tax credits, they are 
going to start canceling projects.
  I know I have been to the floor and said this previously, but now 
have the last month's numbers as it relates to actual job loss, the 
80,000 jobs that have been lost in our economy, and if you looked 
deeply, you would probably find some of those jobs are these energy-
related jobs, where we have not given predictability to investors and, 
consequently, they are starting to cancel projects.
  This Senator does not want to see the next quarter's numbers and see 
the greater job losses because Congress would not give predictability 
in the tax code. This is a time when our economy needs investment. It 
needs investment in those activities that are going to help consumers 
in the long run lower their energy costs, but, frankly, this is an 
investment we can make right now that will help our economy create much 
needed new jobs and investment.
  What is our goal? I know many of my colleagues would say: Let's go 
back to the drawing board and see if we can find a pay-for way of doing 
this. I am sure this discussion is going to come up in the House of 
Representatives as well. But I remind my colleagues, we have tried that 
approach three times. We have tried that approach, and we have failed. 
The White House has issued veto threats every time we tried to pay for 
these measures. To now say we are going to revert back to that I think 
is going to leave in jeopardy the investment cycle for 2008 of that 
100,000 jobs and $20 billion of investment.
  A more positive way to proceed is to get this particular legislation 
passed and signed into law so we do not lose the investment in the 
jobs, we do not see a 77-percent plunge in the investment in wind like 
we did last time the PTC was allowed to expire. Or see a drop off in 
solar or renewables or efficiency and the other areas that are just 
starting to take off. Instead we should get this off the table, signed 
into law, and we have plenty of time later this year to talk about how 
we are going to make green energy tax credits a priority in our 
Nation's tax code so this industry can take off and continue to provide 
the certainty and predictability we need.
  What I am saying is, we should not pin a gold medal on our chest for 
work we should have done in 2007 to give the market predictability on 
green energy tax credits. This work is actually late to the game. Let's 
finish it and be proud we did so in a bipartisan fashion to break the 
logjam, but now let's get on to the rest of the year in coming up with 
a funding source for what are predictable tax credits beyond the 2008 
and 2009 time period that will really stimulate the millions of green-
collar jobs America can have.
  The urgency of this issue should not be underestimated. The 
opportunity for America to become a leader in green energy technology 
is at our doorstep today. But if the United States does not realize it 
needs to put its foot on the accelerator, then we are not doing our job 
in communicating the facts. The Europeans, the Chinese, and the rest of 
the world are going to move ahead in the manufacturing of green energy 
technology. The United States can be a leader in that new green-collar 
industry or it simply can be a marketplace for other countries' 
technology solutions.
  This Senator wants the United States to be a green energy technology 
leader. I want us to be an exporter of the green energy technologies 
developed and manufactured here at home, creating jobs in the United 
States and leveraging the know-how we have in green energy technologies 
to provide much needed solutions around the globe.
  To do that, the United States has to give predictability in our tax 
code. It has to recognize we are willing to turn our ship off the 
fossil fuel direction and on to green energy solutions that will help 
our economy, help our environment, and help shift the change we need in 
our foreign policy.
  I hope my colleagues will take this vote on the Ensign amendment this 
morning with a lot of foresight into the debate that is going to 
continue to happen and to support the Ensign-Cantwell amendment, to 
sign onto the underlying bill to say it is time for us to move forward 
on this solution and to urge our House colleagues to work diligently to 
quickly put this legislation on the President's desk so we can get 
about the other vital energy tasks we must address.
  There is much work to do, but let's vote today with enthusiasm that 
the United States is going to be more aggressive in turning to green 
energy solutions and to make the United States a leader in green energy 
technology.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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