[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 118 (Thursday, August 5, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6894-S6896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 3738. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
incentives for clean energy manufacturing to reduce emissions, to 
produce renewable energy, to promote conservation, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.

[[Page S6896]]

  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Clean Energy 
Technology Leadership Act. This legislation would provide tax 
incentives for clean energy manufacturing, renewable energy, and 
conservation. This is a critical package of incentives to drive the 
development and deployment of clean energy technology in the United 
States. It also will expand our manufacturing base to ensure that these 
advanced energy technologies are made here in America.
  This bill is not intended to serve as a substitute for comprehensive 
energy and climate legislation. However, it does provide a near-term 
opportunity to support the development and deployment of clean energy 
technologies.
  Congress must continue working on legislation that will put us on a 
course to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the events 
of the last several weeks have made it clear that there is no 
bipartisan support for a strong energy and climate bill. In the 
interim, we should act on areas where there is potential agreement. The 
Clean Energy Technology Leadership Act is broad energy tax legislation 
that focuses on tax incentives to encourage renewable energy and 
conservation. This legislation would extend and improve existing 
provisions in the tax code and provides some targeted new incentives.
  The legislation would promote clean energy manufacturing by providing 
additional funding for the advanced energy manufacturing credit and 
uncapping the credit for solar energy property, fuel cell power 
generation, and advanced energy storage systems, including batteries 
for advanced vehicles. In addition, the legislation would extend the 
credit for domestic manufacturers of energy appliances.
  To encourage the production of renewable energy, the Clean Energy 
Technology Leadership Act would extend for 2 years and codify the grant 
in lieu of tax credit program created by the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act of 2009. It modifies the program to clarify that real 
estate investment trusts and public power would be eligible for the 
program. The legislation provides an additional $3.5 billion for clean 
renewable energy bonds, with 60 percent allocated to public power and 
the remaining 40 percent to cooperative electric rural companies. The 
Clean Energy Technology Leadership Act extends the research and 
development tax credit retroactively through 2012. For 2011 and 2012, 
it would increase the R&D credit by ten percent for research 
expenditures related to the fields of fuel cells and battery 
technology, renewable energy, energy conservation technology, efficient 
transmission and distribution of electricity, and carbon capture and 
sequestration.
  To encourage conservation, the Clean Energy Technology Leadership Act 
would extend and modify tax incentives for new energy efficient homes, 
nonbusiness energy property improvements, and energy efficient 
commercial buildings. The bill also would provide incentives for clean 
transportation by providing incentives for natural gas use in heavy 
vehicles.
  These provisions will encourage investments in developing and 
deploying renewable energy and conservation solutions, which will 
result in lower greenhouse gas emissions. The Clean Energy Technology 
Leadership Act is not a comprehensive energy and climate solution, but 
I believe it is an important starting point. I am hopeful that we can 
secure bipartisan support for these and other important tax provisions 
and pass them this year.
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