[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 149 (Thursday, September 18, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8985-S8986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 ENERGY

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I want to take a few minutes to express 
my strong support for the so-called extenders package, which includes 
the Energy Improvement and Extension Act and will come before the 
Senate, as I understand it, as early as this afternoon.
  Passage of this bill is very important for the country and will have 
wide-reaching impacts. It will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, 
curb greenhouse gas emissions, create hundreds of thousands of American 
jobs, promote R&D in our innovative industries, ease fiscal burdens on 
rural counties, and reduce the tax burden on middle-class families.
  The bill demonstrates the critical role that tax incentives can play 
in addressing our country's most pressing challenges.
  Let me focus today on the very robust package of tax incentives for 
clean, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. Those are incentives I 
and many of my colleagues have worked on since the beginning of this 
Congress. We have already taken eight votes this Congress on various 
versions of this energy tax package. Unfortunately, as the ``green'' 
energy sector has sat by and production has slowed in that sector, and 
as skyrocketing gas prices have made our dependence on foreign oil more 
apparent than ever, our energy tax incentives have been hostage to a 
broader dispute between the parties concerning whether, and how, to 
offset the costs of extending various tax provisions. I am very pleased 
that after a number of false starts, we appear, finally, to have 
reached a compromise.
  The compromise will enable us to become a more energy-efficient 
nation. It will wean us off of our dependence on fossil fuels. It 
extends the production tax credit by 1 year for wind energy and by 2 
years for other qualified renewable sources. I had hoped we could 
achieve a longer term extension of the production tax credit, but this 
is all that could be afforded within the package's cost constraints. 
Undoubtedly, this bill's extension of the production tax credit will 
enable our renewable industries to stay afloat. Today, I want to state 
my commitment again to work for a long-term extension of the production 
tax credit, which is very much needed, which I hope we can achieve in 
the next Congress.
  This package, however, includes long-term extensions for tax credits 
that make distributed green energy technologies affordable for American 
businesses and families. The investment tax credit, which gives 
businesses a 30-percent tax credit for investing in solar, wind, 
geothermal, and ocean energy equipment, is extended for a full 8 years. 
So, too, is the residential energy efficiency property credit, which 
gives families a 30-percent tax credit for the cost of installing solar 
equipment at

[[Page S8986]]

their residences. That is an 8-year extension of that provision, which 
is very good news for many Americans.
  For both of these tax incentives, the bill expands the classes of 
qualifying equipment. This means businesses and families will have 
added flexibility in choosing the energy-saving technologies that make 
the most sense for them. Both credits are expanded to include small 
wind technologies that are used for onsite energy production, and 
geothermal heat pumps, which can use the Earth as either a heat source, 
when operating in heating mode, or a heat sink, when operating in 
cooling mode. There are already more than 1 million geothermal heat 
pumps installed in the United States, and those who have installed them 
can save up to 70 percent annually on their utility bills. So when this 
bill becomes law, families will be able to choose among installing 
solar technology, small wind technology, and geothermal heat pumps in 
their homes, and the 30 percent tax credit will be available for any of 
those installations. In case of solar electric investments, we greatly 
improve the incentive by removing the current $2,000 credit cap.
  The bill also expands the business credit to include combined heat 
and power systems, which use a heat engine or power station to 
simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat. Businesses 
that install these systems are able to get both heat and electricity 
from the same source, which decreases both energy costs and greenhouse 
gas emissions.
  The benefits of these investments, these incentives, go far beyond 
energy independence, greenhouse gas reduction, and energy cost savings. 
They will enable U.S. firms of all sizes to add a great many ``green'' 
jobs on American soil. The Navigant Consulting organization recently 
put out a report estimating that the 8-year extension of the solar 
credit that I have just talked about will create 1.2 million employment 
opportunities in this country, including 440,000 permanent jobs, and 
$232 billion in domestic investment. Solar energy is already an 
important economic engine in my State of New Mexico. I am very pleased 
this extension is anticipated to add an additional 12,000 direct jobs 
in my State and 7,000 indirect jobs.
  Shifting to the need to reduce demand for petroleum, the bill creates 
a new plug-in electric drive vehicle credit. We are hopeful that plug-
in electric vehicles will come to the market next year and that the 
Government will help individuals purchase these vehicles through tax 
credits. This bill provides those tax credits will start at $2,500, and 
they will climb as high as $7,500, depending upon the battery capacity 
of the particular vehicle.
  For commercial vehicles, the bill adds incentives for idling 
reduction units, which provides an alternative source of power used to 
heat, cool, or provide electricity to the cab or other parts of the 
truck. There are more than 200,000 trucks carrying refrigerated cargo 
around this country any day. The fleet owners will be incentivized to 
install advanced insulation on those trucks that can dramatically 
reduce the amount of gasoline those trucks consume trying to keep that 
cargo cool. So this is a very important provision.
  Finally, the bill addresses our conservation and efficiency needs. It 
extends credits for energy-efficient improvements to new and existing 
homes and commercial buildings. Because energy used to heat and cool 
residential and commercial buildings accounts for nearly 40 percent of 
U.S. energy consumption--and nearly as much of our carbon dioxide 
emissions--these tax incentives are especially important. Owners of 
existing homes will be able to claim a tax credit of up to 10 percent 
of the combined costs from all qualified electric efficiency 
improvements, such as installing insulation in their homes, replacing 
windows, water heaters, and high-efficiency cooling and heating 
equipment. For new homes, there is a $2,000 tax credit for a home 
builder who constructs a qualified new energy-efficient home, certified 
to achieve a 50-percent reduction in energy usage. With new homes 
likely to remain part of our Nation's housing stock for more than 60 
years, we need to make sure that builders have the right incentives to 
make energy efficiency a top priority. Owners of commercial buildings 
will continue to be able to deduct up to $1.80 per square foot of 
building floor area if they achieve a 50-percent energy savings target 
through energy reductions for the building's HVAC and interior lighting 
system.
  With this addition to the provisions related to energy, American 
businesses are counting on Congress to enact this package because it 
contains an extension of the R&D development tax credit. It contains 
important tax relief for American families. It patches the alternative 
minimum tax to prevent it from engulfing millions of additional hard-
working families. It lowers the income threshold for the $1,000 child 
tax credit from $12,000 to $8,500. That change alone enables 25,000 New 
Mexico children to newly qualify and an additional 94,000 to receive a 
larger credit than under prior law.
  It extends the qualified tuition deduction for higher education 
expenses. That is a deduction of up to $4,000 that helps more than 4.4 
million middle-class families meet the cost of sending their children 
to college.
  Finally, the bill includes the secure world schools provisions and 
the payment in lieu of taxes provisions. These are extremely important 
for Western States in particular but for virtually all of our States.
  As to the payment in lieu of taxes, let me talk specifically about 
that issue. We increase funding for payment in lieu of taxes in the 
current fiscal year. We fully fund the program for 4 years. These 
Federal payments are essential to local governments, including many in 
my State, in order to offset the losses and property taxes due to 
nontaxable Federal lands located within their boundaries. This funding 
is long overdue, and it is more desperately needed now than ever 
before.
  Passage of this legislation, this energy incentives package, will 
demonstrate to the American people that we are willing to shift our tax 
priorities in a new direction toward a national energy policy that 
promotes diversified domestic sources of clean energy.
  It furthers the significant progress we made in recent years with 
respect to promoting investment in efficiency and the renewable energy 
technologies that can help grow our economy. And beyond energy issues, 
it addresses key concerns of American families, businesses, and 
municipalities.
  I applaud the various Senators who have had a major part in the 
development of this legislation, particularly Senator Baucus and 
Senator Grassley, but also our leadership, both the Democratic and 
Republican leaders, for bringing us together around this package.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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