[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 149 (Thursday, September 18, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9001-S9003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             TAX EXTENDERS

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I come to the floor hoping that the two 
leaders, Senator Reid and Senator McConnell, might be close to getting 
an agreement that allows us to move forward on voting on the tax 
extenders package, including the critically important energy 
provisions. While we wait for that, I thought I would take an 
opportunity to come down and mention some of the key provisions of the 
bill and also to thank many people who have worked on it.
  We are the cusp of breaking this logjam on clean energy tax policy 
and pushing the United States into more of a leadership position on 
clean energy technology. Getting to this point took a lot of work and 
dedication. Senator Reid of Nevada, obviously coming from a State that 
has incredible resources to participate in this, has long been an 
advocate of renewable energy. He instinctively understands what it is 
going to take for us to get off of fossil fuels and on to other 
alternative, more sustainable technologies. He has consistently forged 
a consensus on critical issues in the Senate. I know Senator Reid knows 
how desperately our Nation needs to get on this path toward energy 
independence.
  I also take the opportunity to thank Senators Baucus and Grassley for 
their commitment and leadership. I don't think there has been a time 
during this whole process that these two wise leaders of the Finance 
Committee have waivered, and we have had many votes to try to get to 
this point where we are today.
  I especially want to thank the Finance Committee staff: Cathy Koch, 
Pat Bousliman, and Mark Prater, who all worked long hours crafting the 
overall package. While I will not talk about the overall package, I 
will talk about the energy provisions. I thank them for their hard 
work. It takes a lot of time and energy. I also thank Senator Ensign 
and his staff, particularly Jason Mulvihill, who spent many hours 
working with my staff, Lauren Bazel and Amit Ronen, and my chief of 
staff Maura O'Neill. All have worked on this in a bipartisan effort to 
try to get this legislation across the finish line.
  It is a bipartisan effort that got us here today. And I hope we will 
continue bipartisan efforts on many of these policies moving forward 
because that is what it is going to take given the structure of the 
Senate for us to continue to move forward on important legislation.
  What are we doing in this Energy bill that is going to hopefully be 
before us this evening? First and foremost, we are doing several things 
that are new, new policies that will help our nation realize a clean 
energy future. First we are unleashing the power of solar energy. In 
2005, we took a very important step by incenting solar energy for 2 
years. Now we are doing something much more robust. We are giving an 8-
year investment tax credit to the solar industry because we believe 
that it will unleash the potential of this unbelievable energy source 
for our Nation. We think that over 440,000 new jobs could be created in 
the solar industry just in the next 8 years. Much of that growth is 
coming from new concentrating solar plants, a breakthrough in 
technology that has great promise to provide affordable and predictable 
baseload power in rapidly growing parts of the Southwest. Without this 
bill that is going to be before us, electricity rates surely would have 
risen in these fast growing parts of the country, and our environment 
would have suffered.
  Now if we pass this bill, States such as Nevada, Arizona, and New 
Mexico not only will be able to produce emission-free solar power at a 
stable and affordable rate, but the industry will be a new source of 
manufacturing jobs for this part of our country. The new 8-year 
investment credit will also, I believe, unleash a similar opportunity 
for fuel cell technology because we are giving this nascent industry 
great predictability.

  Second, we are jump-starting the transition to plug-in electric 
vehicles. This is the first time we are giving tax breaks to consumers 
who purchase plug-in electric cars, trucks, and SUVs. These are cars 
that are about to appear on the showroom floor, and may achieve 100 
miles per gallon. By giving consumers up to a $7,500 tax rebate per 
vehicle, we can accelerate the adoption rate and the mass production 
and, I believe, help this game-changing technology be deployed more 
quickly.
  This provision was part of a bill that Senator Hatch, Senator Obama, 
and myself began working on over a year and a half ago. We recognized 
that our current electricity infrastructure,

[[Page S9002]]

when it is matched with plug-in vehicles, could help us displace 6.5 
million barrels of oil a day. That is an amount equivalent to 50 
percent of our foreign oil imports.
  And instead of paying $4 a gallon, as many consumers have paid in the 
last several months, with a plug-in electric vehicle you can fill up 
with electricity for the equivalent of only $1 per gallon. Wouldn't 
that be terrific for our consumers today?
  Third, this legislation is a big step forward on giving every 
American the opportunity to generate their own power. With the advent 
of distributed generation, now individual homeowners will be able to 
generate their own electricity, produce their own hot water, and 
monitor their own energy uses and, consequently, save precious dollars.
  This bill contains new incentives for residential solar, small wind 
turbines, and smart meters--all things that empower the consumer with 
the ability to control and reduce their own energy costs. For example, 
consumers can receive a Federal cost share of 30 percent for installing 
solar photovoltaic or hot water systems on their roofs, and for the 
first time we are eliminating the cap on residential solar tax credits. 
Lifting the cap will encourage residential homeowners to put on even 
bigger renewable solar systems, allowing them to sell clean energy back 
to the electricity grid used by other families.
  We all know about big wind farms. We have seen pictures of them. Some 
of my colleagues have wind farms in their State. But for the first 
time, this bill provides a tax credit to homeowners who put small wind 
turbines onto their property, which can also generate a source of 
electricity in windy rural farm and ranch areas across our country.
  This legislation also incorporates a credit for installing geothermal 
heat pumps, which is really one of the cleanest and most efficient ways 
to heat and cool your home. This technology uses the constant heat of 
the Earth to make or take away the heat in our homes, instead of 
burning fossil fuels into the sky.
  One of the provisions I am very enthusiastic about--and I thank the 
chairman of the committee, Senator Baucus, for including this in the 
legislation--is smart metering technology. Smart metering, along with 
these other uses, is going to be so empowering for the consumers 
because smart meters are an essential component of making our 
electricity grid more intelligent, making it smarter about how we use 
electricity, making it less prone to blackouts. By putting smart meters 
in this tax package, hopefully the adoption rate will also pick up and 
be spread more quickly. Smart meters will allow for real-time pricing 
that will let consumers know how much energy they are consuming so that 
they can adjust their consumption accordingly to lower their 
electricity bills. The smart grid example I always like to use is to 
set your dishwasher to turn on at the lowest megawatt rate. Having that 
capability across a range of technologies could end up giving consumers 
significant savings.
  This legislation also gives consumers access to over $10,000 in tax 
credits to purchase technologies that can lower their energy bills. For 
example, this bill allows consumers to use up to a $500 tax credit for 
installing energy-efficient appliances, windows, and insulation. It 
also provides consumers incentives for solar PV panels, solar hot water 
heaters, and residential wind turbines.
  There is also a $300 tax incentive for the purchase of clean-burning 
wood stoves. In fact, I think that provision alone will give Northeast 
consumers an opportunity to significantly reduce their home heating 
bills because more efficient, new wood-burning stoves can help 
consumers get significant reductions to their winter heating bills by 
moving toward this new state-of-the-art technology, to say nothing of 
helping the Northeast get off of home heating oil and on to things such 
as wood-burning pellets, which are renewable and can be much more 
economical.
  So there are other things in this bill about biofuels, about clean 
energy credits for nonprofit organizations, and I am sure my colleagues 
will come and talk about other things. But there is one last point I 
wish to make about this legislation because I really do think we are 
making a game-changing decision here as it relates to clean energy and 
our clean energy future. That is because another breakthrough in this 
bill is that it is the first time I know of that the Senate is voting 
to take away tax breaks from the oil and gas companies and reallocate 
those funds to renewable energy sources. This is the first time, I 
believe, we are truly beginning to level the playing field, taking away 
subsidies from those mature and profitable industries that I think have 
had too many subsidies for too long a time. This bill says we want our 
energy future to be based on more diverse and renewable energy sources 
that are better for our environment.
  In 2005 energy bill--one of the last times Congress considered new 
energy tax policy--the authors chose to give two-thirds of the tax 
breaks to the fossil fuel and nuclear industries. This bill flips that 
ratio on its head. Two-thirds of the tax incentives in this package go 
to clean energy generation, helping consumers take more control of 
their own energy costs.
  So we are putting our money where our mouth is. We are saying we want 
to invest in cleaner, more distributed generation that is domestically 
produced and environmentally friendly.
  So I am proud of this energy package--and hopefully tonight we will 
get it passed--that unleashes the power of solar, that empowers 
consumers with incentives to reduce their energy use and to be in the 
production of cleaner energy themselves, for which this legislation 
gives up to $10,000 in tax breaks, and it certainly helps level the 
playing field as far as public policy by starting to incentivize clean 
energy over our historic dependence on fossil fuels.
  I hope we can get this legislation passed because not only will it be 
an economic opportunity for job growth in America and for 
manufacturing, but it will also provide real opportunities for 
Americans to save real dollars on their energy bills. I hope my 
colleagues will join me in passing this package. I hope we can get it 
through the House quickly and get it signed by the President so we can 
get about having the energy relief America deserves.
  Mr. President, I also want to highlight the additional tax relief to 
American families and businesses that we will provide when we finally 
act on the other tax extenders.
  The 2-year extension of the State sales tax deduction is critical to 
the struggling families in my State who just can not afford to face the 
potential tax increase they would face if we fail to extend the 
deduction for State sales taxes.
  I am pleased we give taxpayers certainty for 2008 and for 2009.
  And I am pleased this deduction means real money for real families.
  In 2006, more than 880,000 Washingtonians claimed this deduction. And 
49 percent of those folks made less than $75,000.
  This deduction meant an average of $600 more in the pockets of 
Washington State taxpayers.
  This is an issue of fundamental fairness and I will continue to work 
to make this deduction permanent. No one should be left in the dark 
wondering if the deduction will be extended from year to year. They 
just can't afford the uncertainty.
  I am also pleased to see us restore the R&D tax credit for 2008 and 
extend it through 2009.
  This tax credit has a strong history of supporting much needed high-
wage jobs in the United States.
  The Information Technology Association of America estimated that if 
the tax credit was in place during 2008, there would have been $8.5 
billion more in economic activity this year.
  That is investment that Americans could have greatly benefited from. 
And it is economic activity we can still benefit from if we act now.
  Clearly, given that our economic news only gets worse each day, we 
can't afford to turn away the $51 million per day in new investments 
that are at risk if this credit is not extended.
  And this bill fulfills the promise we made to support our rural 
neighbors by reauthorizing our Secure Rural Schools Program and fully 
funding the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Program.
  This will mean an influx of around $47 million a year for 4 years for 
some of our rural counties that have a very small tax base because 
Federal lands take up so much of the county.

[[Page S9003]]

  Facing the expiration of these payments this year, rural counties 
have been forced to begin laying off teachers, librarians, and county 
employees that provide critical services.
  And these communities cannot absorb the loss of these workers. Nor 
should they have to deal with further erosion of the sense of community 
that many of their towns were founded on.
  But today we are reversing this trend and helping counties retain 
county employees and teachers, keep roads safe and maintained, stemming 
cuts in vital government services, while also providing funding for 
resource conservation projects, forest service land rescue services, 
and programs to support economic development.
  This bill not only provides new opportunities for American businesses 
to take advantage of the growing green energy economy, but it provides 
real opportunities for Americans to save real dollars.
  So today I ask my colleagues to join me in voting for a strong, 
bipartisan tax package that helps move this country forward toward 
greater energy independence and provides needed tax relief to our 
families and businesses.
  I would also like to take a moment to recognize the mental illness 
parity provisions in this bill. What they mean is that when Americans 
need mental health treatment that they will not be faced with higher 
costs for that treatment than they currently have for medical surgical 
treatments. This bill would require private insurance plans that offer 
mental health benefits as part of the coverage to offer such benefits 
on par with the medical surgical benefits. Any cost-sharing or benefit 
limits imposed on mental health services must not be any more 
restrictive than those imposed on medical surgical services.
  Your support on all of these provisions cannot wait any longer. We 
have run out of time, and the time to act is now.
  I thank the Presiding Officer and yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The 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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