Congress might be a little preoccupied this week with saving the world from the consequences of the overleveraged, unregulated excesses of the financial industry, nevertheless, they may actually make time to find a way to create a package of tax credits that will bolster the renewables industry, keeping its incredible recent momentum going. Senate to vote next week on energy tax credits is the headline from Reuters and the bill not only extends the tax credit program for renewables, it creates an incentive for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). That's a shot in the arm for companies like GM who are banking on PHEVs. (See my last post below.)
This deal was reached with bipartisan agreement. What has killed every previous attempt in the Senate this past year was Republican opposition to paying for the credits by taking it out of the considerable package of emoluments that the oil and gas industry enjoys. (I've written about this a bunch of times, the last time in Plus ça change, plus c'est la meme chose – Part Deux.) For more depth on the Senate's package and some of the inside baseball, see this from "CongressDaily."
Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, the "Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act" was passed on September 16 by a vote of 236-189. It has the tax credit extension plus many other features including the controversial , that's my polite way of saying damnable , opening up of many sites to offshore drilling. There are, on the plus side, some more new programs like PHEV incentives and more help on energy efficiency. Here is a list from the AP of the bill's key provisions. See also the recent "NY Times" editorial on this: Ms. Pelosi's Compromise.
Will any of this go forward before the elections? Maybe. One possibility is for the renewable tax credits to be peeled out of the larger packages, be reconciled between the two houses of Congress, and sent out for the President's signature. Of course, if this package contains the taking away of the oil and gas industry perks, then the President will likely veto it. Maybe, in the end, even with all the frantic activity, this will have to wait until the next administration and the next Congress. C'est la guerre.
