Senate Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid is attempting to shame Republicans into supporting the extension of clean energy tax breaks, saying they haven’t lived up to their word to include the subsidies in a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill.
The GOP leadership in both chambers “promised to correct a Republican error in last year’s omnibus spending bill that omitted important tax credits for some renewable energy technologies,” but “haven’t lived up to their word,” the Nevada Democrat said Friday.
Reid argued that the Republican leadership broke its promise to extend the tax credits after failing to do so in December’s omnibus spending bill, which included a landmark extension of wind and solar credits but left subsidies for other technologies on the cutting-room floor.
After a successful campaign by conservative groups to snuff out the “green pork” from the FAA reauthorization bill earlier this year, Republicans are attempting to parlay a deal in which “anti-environment” riders would be added in exchange for the energy subsidies. Reid said, no deal.
“Democrats refused to do unnecessary harm to our environment,” he said. “Republicans should not hold American workers and businesses hostage with far-right riders.”
The tax credits in question are for geothermal power plants, small wind resources, hydrogen fuel cells and other clean energy resources that expired last year when they were not included in the spending package.
An amendment to include the tax credits was defeated earlier in the legislative process, but Reid wants to break the impasse before July 15, when the current FAA authorization runs out. The House is planning to vote soon on its version of the reauthorization bill, which doesn’t include the tax credits, leaving it to the Senate to pass its companion.
