Renewable Tax Credit Extenders Package Fails (Again)

By a vote of 51-43, S. 3335 the Jobs, Energy, Families and Disaster Relief Act, which included a crucial package of renewable energy tax credits, namely the Solar Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit, failed (again) today in the Senate. Instead of passing the bill, its opponents decided that killing every energy bill that moves, other than ones expanding offshore drilling, was a better strategy for America's energy policy than extending already existing energy provisions.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus will continue the fight for this important legislation that is crucial for helping build a low-carbon economy. Yesterday, NDN President Simon Rosenberg and Green Project Director Michael Moynihan called on Congress to extend this package of renewable energy tax credit.

NDN President Simon Rosenberg and NDN Green Project Director Michael Moynihan today called on leaders in both parties to extend the package of renewable energy tax credits that will come up for a vote as early as tomorrow in the U.S. Senate. The package, currently part of the Jobs, Energy, Families and Disaster Relief Act of 2008 (S. 3335), has enormous potential to quickly stimulate the economy, create jobs, reduce American dependence on foreign sources of energy and move toward a low-carbon future.

"We call upon the leaders of both parties -- including Senators Obama and McCain -- to work together to pass the package of renewable energy tax credits this year, starting with the vote this week in the Senate," Rosenberg said. "Accelerating the development of renewable energy is in the national interest of the United States; it will help us tackle the threat of climate change; lessen our dependence on expensive and dirty energy sources; and begin to create the new clean energy jobs so vital to the economy of 21st century America."

Moynihan specifically called for the eight-year extension of the Solar Investment Tax Credit, currently included in S. 3335, which he called “crucial for ensuring a stable, predictable, and favorable investment climate so that the United States can become a major leader in solar energy.” He added that this lack of stability for all renewable energy sources currently is costing American jobs, and a failure to extend the tax credits would cause thousands more jobs to be lost, as well as boost demand for fossil fuel-based energy sources, further increasing energy prices and impacting everyday Americans.