On a vote of 257 to 166, the House on Friday passed The Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act of 2008 (H.R. 7060) that would extend expired tax incentives, provide AMT relief, and promote energy exploration. However, House Democrats upheld a point of order that blocked Republicans from bringing up H.R. 6049, passed by the Senate on September 23. The disagreement involves the House bill providing complete offsets, which would almost certainly guarantee a Senate Republican filibuster and threatened White House veto. House Democratic leaders may adjourn without resolving a standoff.

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For independent full coverage of this story, we refer you to House Defies Senate Over Tax Extenders at CQ Politics.

Statement from Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, D-Mont.Baucus

MEMORANDUM

To: Reporters and Editors

From: Carol Guthrie for Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.)

Re: House vote on "tax extenders" legislation

Finance Chairman Baucus issued a brief statement following the House vote to approve legislation extending expiring tax cuts -- a bill that stands under a veto threat from the White House and that differs from legislation approved overwhelmingly in the Senate last week. Baucus has called repeatedly on the House to agree to take up and pass the Senate legislation, which will create and extend incentives for renewable energy, protect 20 million Americans from paying the alternative minimum tax, and extend a number of vital expiring tax cuts for businesses and families. The White House has indicated that the President will sign the Senate bill and enact the tax incentives and cuts upon passage in the House.

"Time and time again, the Senate has voted on House legislation to renew expiring tax provisions. It is time for the House to do what's fair, and announce that it will vote on the Senate's tax legislation when they receive it. The Senate bill achieves our common goals to support energy, jobs, and families, and it goes further than the Senate has ever been able to go before toward fiscal responsibility on all these matters. While the House bill cannot pass in the Senate and will assuredly draw a veto, the Senate bill received 93 yes votes and it can become law for all of America's working families right away," said Baucus. "The House is welcome to work its will on its own bill, but we have been through this before. At the end of the day we need new tax law, and the Senate bill is a proven bipartisan solution to get tax cuts for energy, jobs, and families now. The time for turf battles is done."

Release from House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y.

Bill would extend expiring tax benefits to keep millions of
families from paying higher taxes

September 26, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives today passed critical, bipartisan legislation to provide tax relief for millions of families and businesses and to encourage the production and use of renewable energy. The legislation, H.R. 7060, the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act of 2008 would extend tax credits and deductions that expired last year or would expire at the end of this year without adding to the national debt. The tax benefits in this bill are virtually identical to provisions included in legislation passed by the Senate earlier this week, including offsets, which have also been approved by the Senate.

"We've put together a bill that makes a lot of sense on the issues -- tax relief for families and businesses, energy independence and creating new, green jobs for our economy," said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY). "No one has challenged this bill on the merits."

"With this bill, we can tell our kids and our grandkids that we encouraged energy production from wind and solar to make sure that future generations aren't hooked on foreign oil like we have been. We also make a commitment to our companies to help them conduct research and development, to compete internationally and create new jobs. We've also extended tax relief for families to put money back in their pockets at a time when they need it most."

"We've made sacrifices in this bill -- we have removed controversial provisions that have drawn objections in the past. We have removed controversial offsets, instead closing loopholes and ending tax breaks that the Senate has already blessed. This bill makes sense. The only thing keeping this bill from the President's desk is politics and I hope we can work together to jump that hurdle and I hope we can jump the hurdles and make this bill law."

H.R. 7060 would extend and provide important tax relief for individuals and families, including:

• Deduction of State and local sales tax
• Deduction of tuition and other education expenses
• Deduction of out-of-pocket expenses by teachers
• Deduction of property taxes for non-itemizers
• Relief for more than 12 million children through an expansion of the refundable child tax credit to taxpayers earning $8,500 a year.
  

H.R. 7060 will also provide critical tax incentives for businesses to invest in new technology by:

• Extending the research and development credit
• Extending active financing provisions
• Enhancing depreciation for restaurants
  

Chairman Rangel's legislation would also help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil by encouraging the use and production of renewable energy through:

• An eight-year extension of the investment tax credit (ITC) for solar energy
• 2.75 year extensions of the production tax credit (PTC) for energy derived from biomass, geothermal, waves and tides, hydropower, landfill gas and solid waste
• A one-year extension of the PTC for energy derived from wind
• Tax incentives for coal electricity plants that capture and sequester carbon dioxide.
• Incentives for the production of renewable fuels such as biodiesel and renewable
• Incentives to encourage energy efficient products, such as plug-in hybrids cars, and incentives for energy conservation in both commercial buildings and residential structures