Monday, September 29, 2008

Renewable Energy Tax Credits Probably Dead In 110th Congress

Update: We were wrong. Congress rallied. The renewables package was placed in the financial system bailout bill and was passed by both chambers and signed into law by President Bush.
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Unless Congress comes back after the elections for a lame duck session, the tax extensions for wind, solar and other renewables are dead. The House and Senate are passing bills 'at' each other instead of 'with' each other. The result during this session is that offshore oil drilling prohibitions expired, allowing exploration with 3 miles of all shores, which AAEA opposes and expiration of renewables tax credits for wind and solar at the end of this year.

The House passed an energy bill (H.R. 6049) the Senate did not like and the Senate passed an amended bill that the House ignored. The House then passed (Sept 26) a Blue Dog bill (H.R. 7060) that included provisions (tax hikes in other areas to offset) that are unacceptable to President Bush and the Senate.

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