Pressure mounts on clean energy breaks
With a possible impeachment trial looming, lawmakers and interest groups are stepping up pressure to see a package of clean energy tax incentives enacted before the end of the year.
Three separate groups of House Democrats representing 166 members signed on to a letter sent today to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) calling for expansions of key clean energy tax breaks to be added to must-pass legislation.
Specifically, the members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), the New Democrat Coalition and the Congressional Progressive Caucus are calling for a broad expansion of the investment tax credit (ITC), including the addition of energy storage as a qualifying source; an expansion of the electric vehicle tax credit; an extension of the offshore wind ITC through 2025; and extensions and revisions of expired energy efficiency incentives.
"These policies are vital steps we can take right now to address climate change while we continue the fight for broader, more comprehensive action, and this letter demonstrates clear support among our Democratic colleagues for their passage this year," said SEEC co-chairs Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) in a statement.
"We can't afford to miss a single opportunity to pass policies that will help reduce greenhouse gas pollution and protect our communities from the worst impacts of climate change."
While the letter notes an anticipated House Ways and Means Committee markup of clean energy legislation this fall, advocates have been targeting a package that would extend an assortment of expired or soon-to-be-expired tax incentives as a vehicle for also making changes to unexpired breaks.
Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has been eyeing the Nov. 21 expiration of the current stopgap funding resolution as an opportunity to add an extenders package to the next funding measure.
But the House's ongoing impeachment inquiry is already prompting talk of another continuing resolution lasting until February or March, which would likely also delay the possibility of extenders hitching a ride into next year, as well.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), a member of the Finance Committee, said yesterday that discussions are ongoing within the panel on an assortment of energy tax breaks.
"We're trying to find a path to get it done," she told E&E News.
EV wrangling
Advocates and lawmakers are especially keen on extending the federal electric vehicle tax credit, which allows EV buyers to receive up to $7,500 after filing their tax returns.
The credit begins to phase down after an auto manufacturer has sold 200,000 eligible vehicles. Tesla Inc. and General Motors Co. have already hit this cap.
In April, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation to lift the 200,000-vehicle cap. The "Driving America Forward Act," S. 1094, is co-sponsored by Stabenow and Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).
The EV Drive Coalition, whose members include environmental groups, automakers and electric vehicle charging firms, today hailed the letter from SEEC.
"This letter demonstrates the widespread acknowledgment among Members of Congress that tax policy is an immediate and viable lever to tackle climate change this year, particularly through the Driving America Forward Act," Mike Carr, a partner at Boundary Stone Partners who leads the EV Drive Coalition, said in a statement.
"It is highly encouraging to see such a large, diverse group of Members recognize that the Driving America Forward Act is a no-brainer policy," Carr added. "In addition to reducing our emissions, expanding the electric vehicle tax credit will sustain the hundreds of thousands of American jobs the industry already supports, not to mention improve our national security, promote U.S. EV leadership and clean up our air."
Stabenow told E&E News that she would aggressively push to include the "Driving America Forward Act" in any clean energy tax extenders package.
"I'd like to do the EV credit," the Michigan Democrat said, adding, "That's my top priority."
Still, the "Driving America Forward Act" faces resistance from Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who has introduced competing legislation to kill the EV tax credit altogether.
The "Fairness for Every Driver Act," S. 343, would amend the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the subsidy. It would also impose a new fee on EV drivers to help fund road repairs.
Other pressures
A coalition of efficiency advocates, environmentalists and business interests yesterday urged congressional leaders to revive and revise key energy efficiency tax breaks via legislation introduced in both chambers earlier this month (Greenwire, Oct. 2).
"This legislation would not only provide direct economic relief to your constituents through reduced taxes and energy bills, it would drive economic activity and job creation across manufacturing, construction and other industries," wrote the coalition, led by the Alliance to Save Energy.
"It also could be one of the most effective steps Congress takes this year in addressing climate change," said the group.
A separate coalition that includes farmers, homebuilders, environmentalists and electric cooperatives weighed in with lawmakers yesterday in support of extending the ITC for solar and other qualifying sources for five years (E&E Daily, July 26).
While there is growing support for extending the ITC, a coalition of environmentalists and public interest groups today urged congressional tax writers against doing so for nuclear power, which would be accomplished via legislation that has bipartisan support in both chambers (Energywire, Oct. 24).
"Sticking taxpayers with an astronomical bill to bail out the failing nuclear industry is simply unconscionable," said Lukas Ross, senior policy analyst at Friends of the Earth, which led the letter. "Nuclear power doesn't deserve another subsidy. This dirty tax credit has no place in a clean energy package."