Renewable Energy Incentives Included In Paulson Plan To Be Voted On This Week

What Congress is doing RIGHT NOW
(and why it matters more than ever for clean energy) - SOURCE: Solar Nation

Last night we told you about Congress' last-ditch effort to extend clean energy tax credits before the election recess, and many of you called your U.S. Representative to make a plea for passage of the bill, HR6049.

To all of you who did so, thanks a million (actually, 18 billion - about the cost of the tax credit package). And some of you noticed that the voicemail systems in the House Office Buildings were reacting like a losing competitor in an All-You-Can-Eat contest and not accepting any more inputs.

You have had an effect! Today the Senate is working out details of how to add the tax credit measures to the financial services industry bailout package that failed to pass the House just days ago. The notion is to 'sweeten' that package enough to attract votes from Congresspersons who had killed it.

This adds a new dimension to the issue, because Congresspersons may be put in the position of voting for an umbrella bill that contains much that they don't like, in order to pass those measures they DO like. It's not an unprecedented situation: it's what legislators find themselves doing most days that they come to work, but with the bailout price tab running at $700 billion, it's a huge (and hugely controversial) bill to just 'nod through' for the sake of an energy bill costing only 2-3% of the whole.

At 2pm today, we heard that some of the changes to the bailout package include:

Treating losses on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae stock as ordinary losses;
Preventing government subsidies of excessive compensation to executives;
Extending cancellation of mortgage indebtedness forgiveness to help homeowners.
This sounds as if the Senate is correcting some of the flaws in the original package that so outraged millions of Americans (and caused the House web site to crash through intense over-use yesterday (!)) Is it enough of a correction for you, personally, given that it can mean extension of those solar tax credits we've been fighting for all these months and years?

That's not something on which we can advise you. We still want you to call your Representative to urge passage of the clean energy tax credits when the bill reaches the House, but in the name of full disclosure we felt you needed to know the full shape, color, smell and feel of the package they are now wrapped up in.

Here are some important links for you (copy-and-paste if necessary):

1. http://capwiz.com/re-action/go/House6049 (the Action Alert through which you can call your Representative's office)

2. The summary of changes to the financial bailout package (pdf)


3. Two stories in today's news about the merging of the bailout package with the tax extenders:

In sustainablebusiness.com
In CNNPolitics.com

Are we down to the wire yet? We think so. If you haven't called Congress yet, using the link above, please TAKE ACTION and do so now!

With thanks from Solar Nation.