[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 107 (Thursday, June 26, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S6292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CONRAD (for himself and Mr. Hatch):
  S. 3208. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
tax incentives for clean coal technology, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I would like to discuss a bill that I am 
introducing along with Senator Hatch today, the Carbon Reduction 
Technology Bridge Act of 2008.
  This bill is designed to develop the technologies that will enable us 
to use coal in a manner that helps address the threat of climate 
change.
  Our country depends on coal to provide half of our electricity. In 
North Dakota, coal accounts for over 90 percent of our power. This is 
the power we need for lighting and heating our homes, powering our 
businesses, and, in the future, charging our cars.
  The U.S. has vast resources of coal, enough to last over 250 years. 
We need to ensure that we can continue to enjoy the affordable 
electricity provided by coal, while developing technologies that will 
lower the greenhouse gas emissions that result from coal use.
  We need to advance carbon capture and storage technologies to address 
the reality of climate change. The scientific evidence is clear that 
human activity is increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in 
the atmosphere, which contributes to warming temperatures. The 
increased occurrence of severe weather and other effects that we have 
seen to date are small in comparison to what scientists say are the 
likely consequences of continued warming.
  This bill will help jumpstart investment in technologies to capture 
and store carbon. It provides tax credits to the first generation of 
highly efficient advanced coal plants that capture carbon dioxide. It 
helps companies make the first investments in carbon capture and 
storage equipment on the first existing plants. It also provides 
credits for each ton of carbon dioxide captured and stored underground. 
It provides a number of other incentives to advance coal technology.
  The science on climate change is clear, but what is not proven is the 
technology that can provide the solution. This bill sets ambitious but 
achievable goals for those companies willing to be the first to address 
this challenge head-on and build and install these technologies. Under 
this bill, a typical new coal plant would be required to capture 65 
percent of its carbon dioxide emissions. After the first generation of 
projects supported by this bill, we will have tested and refined the 
technologies to enable an even higher rate of capture on future plants.
  This bill will provide an important step toward affordable, low-
carbon power. I welcome comments from my colleagues on this proposal 
and hope that they will join me in sponsoring this bill.
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