[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 179 (Thursday, December 10, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H9212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SOLAR INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, notably absent from the tax extenders bill 
released this week is a provision on which 174,000 American jobs 
depend.
  The solar investment tax credit, a 30 percent credit for the 
installation of solar on residential and commercial properties, was 
implemented in 2006. The result has been an annual growth of 73 
percent.
  That growth allowed the industry to develop panels that have soared 
in efficiency and plummeted in price. Solar is our fastest growing 
energy source and is responsible for 40 percent of all new generating 
capacity brought online this year. Solar employment is growing at a 
rate 20 times higher than the overall economy.
  If the solar investment tax credit is not extended, that growth will 
stop, demand will drop by 71 percent, and 100,000 jobs will be lost; 
but a 5-year extension would create 60,000 jobs and allow the industry 
to come to maturity.
  Mr. Speaker, tax legislation that does not include the solar 
investment tax credit is not serious about creating American jobs. I 
urge its inclusion.

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