[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 100 (Tuesday, June 17, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5670-S5672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TAX EXTENDER LEGISLATION
Mr. REID. Mr. President, yesterday was a remarkably good day. When I
got out of law school, I went back to Nevada and thought I would be
this great golfer. I golfed for 6 months or so, and then realized I was
becoming obsessed with the game. Therefore, I decided I shouldn't do
this. I had a family, and it took so much time.
For a number of years, I have listened to my friends talk about how
much they enjoy golf, and I am sure they do. But it has only been in
recent years that the American public has focused on golf, and that is
because of Tiger Woods.
I can remember the first time I watched this little boy play. They
showed him on the late night shows. Of course, as we all know, it was
taped a lot earlier before his bedtime. This little kid, when he was 3
years old, could do remarkable things with his golf club. That is the
way it was through his entire career, including at Stanford University.
Over the weekend, we all watched with attention while Rocco Mediate
was going stroke for stroke with the great Tiger Woods. They tied in
regulation play. They played an extra 18 holes. It was a tie. Finally,
yesterday, it was concluded. All of us had mixed emotions as for whom
we were pulling. Everyone likes Tiger Woods because he is so good and
so nice, but we all also rooted for this underdog.
The one thing we noted yesterday is this golf tournament took place
in San Diego. The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day for golf.
That is what the commentators kept saying. We were literally stuck in
the rain yesterday. Those of us who were here last night about 4
o'clock saw a violent storm. There was lightning, thunder, driving
rain, and lots of wind. As a result, I spoke with Senator McConnell,
and we thought it was best to delay the vote. We had people calling
saying: I am stuck in Richmond. One Senator was supposed to go to
Dulles. She had to land in Richmond. Another Senator was stuck in
Buffalo. We had people stuck all over the country. So we did this, and
it was the right thing to do.
We intended to vote on the motion to proceed to the Renewable Energy
and Job Creation Act, known as the tax extender bill. Some on the other
side, I am sure, may have welcomed yesterday's delay, but we are where
we would have been last night. We need to return to a vote on the
motion to proceed to the tax extender bill today, and we will do that,
as has been indicated.
The cornerstone of this legislation is an extension of incentives for
businesses to invest in clean, renewable energy. Right now, we reward
these innovators who are blazing the trail to a greater, cleaner, more
affordable energy future, but we don't reward them very much. These
people are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. The potential is out
there. If we can pass this legislation, it would mean so much to the
American economy and the world ecology, the world environment.
This is not just the Democrats talking. Somebody I have gotten to
know over the years is a man by the name of T. Boone Pickens. As I
understand, he is from the State of Texas. He has proven one thing: He
knows how to make money. He has proven he is willing to take chances,
and most always his chances turn out good at the bank for him.
What T. Boone Pickens has now decided to do is make money on
renewable energy. He has done so much in the State of Texas alone. He,
among others, thinks we should pass the legislation that is so
important to give these tax credits to the American entrepreneurs so
they will create jobs.
Here is a chart: Republican filibusters and counting, 76. For a long
time, we had to keep creating new charts because they kept
filibustering so much and it got to be a burden. So what we have done
is we put Velcro on this chart. We can peel these babies off. Because
the Republicans are so often filibustering, we now have a Velcro chart.
We hope we don't have to change this too much more, the ``7,'' or
change the ``6.'' Of course, we changed that a couple times last week.
The Republicans are filibustering what T. Boone Pickens and others
want.
There are hundreds of thousands of jobs, millions of jobs out there
we could create if we have this tax incentive. They are doing it other
places. In Australia, they are in the process of constructing a solar
energy plant. That one plant will be 10,000 megawatts. They can do that
all over Australia. It is an Australian company that is heavily
involved now in California and other parts of the West.
These tax credit extensions will continue to encourage the renewable
energy industry in States all over the West, States that have wind and
Sun, and some States, such as California or Nevada, have a lot of
geothermal. If the Senate does not act to extend these tax incentives,
this research and entrepreneurship will literally be in jeopardy.
Thousands of Americans will lose jobs. They are already in the process
of losing jobs because the tax credits are about to expire.
We need an opportunity to move away from $140 barrel oil imported
from unstable regions and unfriendly governments. There is no problem
facing America that American ingenuity cannot handle. Failing to pass
this tax incentive legislation will mean stacking the deck against
innovation.
The minority is saying we shouldn't pay for these extensions, we
should run up the red ink. During the last 7\1/2\ years, we have had
the master at running up the red ink in the White House. We have now
almost a $10 trillion deficit. We are saying we should pay for this
legislation. The House has already done that.
The setoffs are very simple. One tax that does not kick in we have
extended on a number of occasions in the past. The Republicans did
this. We want to do it again. We also believe these offshore
shenanigans that are taking place in America where they put these phony
companies offshore to get tax breaks should come to an end. And that is
what we have done. Most of it would be directed toward billionaires.
These hedge funders have recognized they had a good deal going, and
they have indicated, with rare exception, that they think it is a good
idea. So it is not as if we are trying to ramrod some vicious tax
increase to the American middle class. In fact, that is not the case.
We cannot let this legislation fail, and the Republicans are going to
let it fail unless we get cloture on this legislation. Not only does
this legislation do good things for renewable energy and job creation,
but it also expands the child tax credit for families of 13 million
children; it provides as many as 30 million homeowners with property
tax relief; it helps 4.5 million families afford the cost of college
with the tuition deduction; it allows millions of teachers to deduct
out-of-pocket classroom expenses; and it levels the playing field by
providing tax relief to people living in States with no income tax
through the State and local sales tax deduction. Our economy is losing
jobs, for 6 months now losing jobs, hundreds of thousands of jobs. In
the 8 years President Clinton was President, almost 23 million jobs
were created. In this administration, it is quite to the contrary. The
disastrous Bush economic policy is the reason we have these job losses,
a policy that Republican nominee John McCain wants to preserve. We
think this is wrong.
With millions of Americans suffering from job loss, home
foreclosures, record gas, energy, and grocery prices, there is no
reason on Earth to oppose the bill before us now. I spoke with someone
in New Mexico yesterday. He said his home has dropped in value by 50
percent. In many places in America, the value of homes has dropped 25
percent. This bill would create hundreds of thousands of good jobs here
at home, lower taxes for American businesses and families and lower
energy prices.
Yesterday, my friend, the Republican leader, indicated his caucus
plans to oppose this legislation. Why? It seems,
[[Page S5671]]
as I have indicated, Republicans object to paying for these crucial tax
cuts by eliminating an existing tax loophole that unfairly allows
hedge-fund billionaires to avoid paying taxes. Even the hedge funders
themselves realize this loophole is unfair and is destined to be
corrected. Yesterday, hundreds of major American corporations sent a
letter to Congress urging that we pass the bill.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record
the letter to which I just referred.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
June 16, 2008.
Hon. Harry Reid,
U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Reid: The undersigned companies, representing
a broad cross section of the U.S. business community and
hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs, request that the Senate
take action during the current work period to extend tax
provisions that expired at the end of 2007 or will expire at
the end of 2008.
The House of Representatives last month passed a tax
extenders package included in H.R. 6049, the Renewable Energy
and Job Creation Act of 2008, which provides a good starting
point for Senate consideration. In April, Senate Finance
Committee Chairman Baucus and Senator Grassley introduced S.
2886 containing a tax extenders package, including a critical
increase in the Alternative Simplified Credit to spur R&D
jobs in the United States. Swift action is now needed by the
Senate to enact a tax extenders package that will bring
significant positive benefits to the U.S. economy.
Important tax provisions, including the R&D tax credit and
the deduction for state and local sales taxes, have already
expired. Others, including critical renewable energy
incentives, the Subpart F active financial services and look-
through rules, the New Markets Tax Credit, and the incentive
for domestic film production, expire at the end of this year.
Large tax increases would fall on American companies and
American workers if the expired and expiring provisions are
not extended.
Failure by Congress to move quickly to extend these
important provisions will bring investment in renewable
energy and energy efficiency projects to a standstill, make
it more difficult for U.S. companies to invest in critical
R&D projects in this country, reduce private sector
investment in business and economic development projects in
distressed areas, and force many U.S.-based financial
institutions to suffer a massive tax increase at a time when
they can least afford it.
Failure to act this summer on tax extender legislation will
have significant negative consequences for the U.S. economy.
The value of the legislation to the U.S. economy and the need
to act quickly at this critical time should be the dominant
considerations.
We look forward to working with you on this important
legislation and urge action during Congress' June legislative
session.
Sincerely,
A.O. Smith Corporation; Abbott Laboratories; Abengoa Solar;
Acciona Energy; Acclarent, Inc.; Adroit Medical Systems;
Advanced Hydro Solutions; Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.;
Advantage Capital Partners; AEE Solar, Inc.; AES Wind
Generation; Affymetrix, Inc.; Agilent Technologies, Inc.;
Agility Design Solutions Inc.; AGP; Agrilectric Power; AIM
Computer Solutions, Inc.; Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.;
Akeena Solar; Allergan, Inc.; Alliant Energy; Almyra
Management Company, Inc.; AltaTerra Ltd.; Alterra Bioenergy;
Alticor Inc.; Altria Group, Inc.; AMD; Ameren Corporation;
Ameresco; American Electric Power; American Express Company;
American International Group, Inc.; American Laboratory
Products Company, Ltd.; American Solar Electric, Inc.; and
Amgen.
AngioDynamics, Inc.; Apple Inc.; Applied Materials, Inc.;
Apricus; Archer Daniels Midland; Art Technologies, Inc.;
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP; AT&T; Ataco Steel Products
Corporation; ATAS International, Inc.; ATEECO, Inc.; Atlantic
City Electric; Autodesk, Inc.; Avaya Inc.; Avista
Corporation; AWR, Inc.; BAE Systems, Inc.; Ballard Power
Systems; Bank of America; The Bank of New York Mellon
Corporation; Batesville Tool & Die, Inc.; Baxa Corporation;
BioEnergy Systems, LLC; Biogen Idec; Biomass One, LP;
BioSelect Fuels; Bloom Energy Corporation; Blue Sky Energy,
Inc.; BMC Software; Boehringer-Ingelheim; The Boeing Company;
Bommer Industries, Inc.; Boralex Inc.; Borel Private Bank &
Trust Company; and Boston Scientific.
BP America; Brookfield Renewable Power; Brunswick
Corporation; Butler Sun Solutions; CA, Inc.; CAB
Incorporated; Cadence Design Systems, Inc.; California Micro
Devices; Calpine Corp.; Calypso Medical Technologies,
Inc.; Caravelle International LLC; Cardinal Systems Inc.;
Case New Holland Inc.; Cassatt Corporation; Caterpillar
Inc.; Central Vermont Public Service Corporation; Cepheid
Inc.; Certess, Inc.; CH Energy Group, Inc.; Chelan County
Public Utility District; the Chubb Corporation; Cisco
Systems, Inc.; Citigroup, Inc.; Click Bond, Inc.; CMS
Energy Corporation; Coca-Cola Company; Coherent, Inc.;
Coherex Medical, Inc.; Colmac Energy, Inc.; ConAgra Foods,
Inc.; Conceptus Inc.; Constellation Energy; Construction
Navigator, Inc.; and Con-Way.
Coulomb Technologies; Covanta; Cummins Inc.; Cummins-
Allison; Cymer, Inc.; Decker Energy International; Deere &
Company; Deeya Energy, Inc.; Delmarva Power; Devine Tarbell &
Associates, Inc.; DG Fairhaven; DIAB; DNV Global Energy
Concepts; Dominion; The Dow Chemical Company; DTE Energy;
Duke Energy; DxTech LLC; Dynatronics Corp.; E&E Manufacturing
Co., Inc.; Eaton Corporation; EDS; Electronics for Imaging;
Eli Lilly and Company; eLynx; Emphasys Medical, Inc.; Empire
Broadcasting Corp.; The Empire District Electric Company;
Energy Conversion Devices; Energy East Corporation; Energy
Innovations; Energy Unlimited, Inc.; EnFocus Engineering
Corporation; Engineering DataXpress, Inc.; and Envision Solar
International, Inc.
EPV Solar, Inc.; Eskay Metal Fabricating; EV Solar
Products, Inc.; eVent Medical, Inc.; Exelon Corporation;
Extol International, Inc.; Fairchild Semiconductor
Corporation; FatSpaniel, Inc.; FileMaker, Inc.; First Wind;
FirstEnergy Corp.; FlowVision, LLC; Ford Motor Company; FPL
Group; Fredon Corporation; GE Energy; GE Energy Financial
Services; Genentech; General Electric Corporation; General
Motors Corporation; Genworth Financial; Gilead Sciences;
GMAC, LLC; Goldman Sachs; Goodrich; GR Spring & Stamping,
Inc.; Grant County Public Utility District; Great Plains
Energy, Inc.; Green Earth Fuels, LLC; Green Mountain Power
Corporation; Greylock Partners; Griffin Realty Advisors;
groSolar; Harley-Davidson Motor Company; and Harris Stratex
Networks.
Hawaiian Electric Company; HCI Publications; Hewlett-
Packard Company; Hitachi Global Storage Technologies;
Honeywell; Hospira, Inc.; Human Genome Sciences; Hydra-Tech
Pumps; Hydro Consulting & Maintenance Services, Inc.; Hydro
Green Energy, Inc.; i2 Technologies; iControl Incorporated;
Imperium Renewables Inc.; Impulse Dynamics; INDECK Energy
Services, Inc.; Independent Energy Systems; Innovalight;
Intel Corporation; Inter-Island Solar Supply; International
Business Machines Corporation; International Paper;
Interstate Power and Light; Intevac, Inc.; Invenergy LLC; ITC
Holdings Corp.; Jan Medical; Jasper Design Automation, Inc.;
JDS Uniphase Corporation; Johnson & Johnson; Johnson
Controls; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Juniper Networks, Inc.; K&S
Tool, Die & Manufacturing, Inc.; KeyBank; and Keystone
Insurers Group.
KLA-Tencor Corporation; Kovio, Inc.; KPMG, LLP; Lam
Research Corporation; The LeverEdge; LibraryWorld, Inc.;
Lincoln Financial; LM Glasfiber; Lockheed Martin; Louis
Dreyfus; LSI Corporation; Lynguent, Inc.; Macrovision
Solutions Corporation; Mainstream Energy Corporation; Masimo
Corporation; Maxim Integrated Products; McCormick & Company,
Inc.; Mead and Hunt; Medlmmune LLC; MEDRAD; MegaWatt
Consulting, Inc.; Merck; Merit Medical Systems, Inc.; Merrill
Lynch; METACURE (USA) Inc.; MetricStream, Inc.; Microsoft
Corporation; Minnesota Power; Minnetronix, Inc.; Mitsubishi
Electric; Monsanto Company; Morgan Stanley; Mortenson
Construction; Motorola; and MSE Power Systems, Inc.
Mystic Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; National City; National Grid;
National Semiconductor Corporation; Naturener USA, LLC;
Nelson Energy; NetApp; NetLogic Microsystems, Inc.;
Neuronetics, Inc.; NeuroPace, Inc.; New Leaf Paper; News
Corporation; Northrop Grumman Corporation; NorthWestern
Energy; Novellus Systems, Inc.; Novo Nordisk Inc.; NuVasive,
Inc.; NVIDIA; NXP Semiconductors USA Inc.; oDesk Corporation;
OGE Energy Corporation; Oracle; Organic Fuels; Orthovita,
Inc.; Otter Tail Corporation; Ovalis, Inc.; Owens Coming;
Pacific Winds, Inc.; Palm, Inc.; Palmer College of
Chiropractic; Pepco Holdings, Inc.; Pfizer; PG&E
Corporation; P-K Tool & Manufacturing Company; and Plan it
Solar.
PNM Resources, Inc.; Polycom, Inc.; Portland General
Electric; PPG Industries; PPL Corporation; Precision Machine
& Supply, Inc.; Presencia Technology, LLC; Primary Power
International; Procter & Gamble; Progress Energy; Proto
Services, Inc.; PSEG; Puget Sound Energy; Q-Cells; Rath,
Young and Pignatelli, P.C.; Raytheon Company; Real Intent,
Inc.; REC Solar, Inc.; ReGrid Power; Renegy, Inc.; Renewable
Energy Group (REG); Renewable Power Solutions, Inc.; Rinnai
Tankless Water Heater Corporation; RMT--WindConnect; Rockwell
Automation; Rockwell Collins; sanofi-aventis U.S. Inc.;
Sanyo; SCHOTT Solar, Inc.; Seagate Technology; SEALED AIR
Corporation; Seattle Medical Technologies, Inc.; Siemens
Corporation; Sierra Pacific Resources; and Simpson Investment
Company.
SkyFuel; Skyline Solar, Inc.; SolarCity; SolarWorld
California; SOLEC; SolFocus; Solvay Pharmaceuticals;
Spansion, Inc.; Specialized Bicycles; Spinal Kinetics, Inc.;
SpinalMotion, Inc.; St. Jude Medical; Steel-Fab, Inc.; The
Stella Group, Ltd.; Stellar Solutions, Inc.; Stratex Energy,
LLC; Sun Edison; SunEarth, Inc.; SunPower Corporation;
Suntech; SV Solar; SVB Financial Group; Symantec Corporation;
Synopsys, Inc.; Tagent, Inc.; Teradata Corporation; Tessera,
Inc.; Texas Instruments; Textron, Inc.; Thermal Designs,
Inc.; Thermosurgery Technologies, Inc.; Third Sun Solar and
Wind Power, Ltd.; Time Warner; The Timken Company; and
Toyota.
TPI Composites; TransCanada Hydro Northeast, Inc.;
Transitions Industries;
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Trimble Navigation Limited; Truseal Technologies, Inc.;
Tupperware; U.S. Bank; UniSource Energy Corporation; United
Solar Ovonic; United Technologies Corp.; VentureLoop, Inc.;
Verari Systems, Inc.; Verizon; Wachovia Corp.; The Walt
Disney Company; Watt Stopper/Legrand; Wescor, Inc; Westar
Energy, Inc.; Western Renewables Group; Whirlpool
Corporation; Wind Capital Group, LLC; Wisconsin Power and
Light; Wood's Powr-Grip Co., Inc.; World Energy; Wyeth; Xcel
Energy, Inc.; Xerox Corporation; Xilinx, Inc.; Xoft, Inc.;
and Zimmer, Inc.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I think it is glaring to note that of these
major companies--hundreds and hundreds of them that have signed this
letter--not a single oil company has signed on. Oil companies don't
want us to do this legislation. They want us to keep being beholden to
them. But look at the companies that signed onto this legislation:
Genetech, Cummins Inc., The Chubb Corporation, Merck, Merrill Lynch,
Microsoft, Owens Corning, Pfizer, U.S. Bank, Wachovia, Verizon, and
Whirlpool Corporation.
Scores and scores of other major companies are telling our Republican
colleagues to vote for legislation the way it is written. They know the
bill and they list the number of it. The letter was signed by the
``Who's Who'' of the Fortune 500 companies and many others--titans of
American business. Hundreds of small companies in addition to that all
agree Congress needs to act now to extend tax incentives for clean
energy and innovation to provide the American people with desperately
needed tax cuts.
We got nine Republicans when we voted on this last Thursday, and I
publicly commended them. I hope we get more today. The record should be
very clear that this, the 76th filibuster of the Republican minority,
is something that is going to cause the further deterioration of the
American economy. We want this legislation passed to help Americans
wean themselves from that which is ruining our country economically and
environmentally.
So I hope we have some people who will join Boeing, General Electric,
Coca Cola, Intel, and other companies I have mentioned and move forward
with this legislation. It is vitally important for the American people.
____________________