Dianne Feinstein: “I rise this afternoon to cosponsor legislation introduced by my colleagues Senator Grassley and Senator Jeffords to…”

“I rise this afternoon to cosponsor legislation introduced by my colleagues Senator Grassley and Senator Jeffords to extend the production tax credit, a tax incentive to encourage wind-generated energy. Today, California's Tehachapi-Mojave area is the world's largest producer of wind-generated electricity. The New York Times has described the area's 5,000 electricity producing wind turbines as a vision of the future. Wind generation energy provides a renewable, clean, environmentally sound source of energy in California. I am pleased to lend my support to the Grassley-Jeffords legislation. The production tax credit provides a 1.5 cent tax credit for each kilowatt of electricity produced in the United States during the first ten years a new wind energy production facility is in service. The legislation is an inexpensive way to encourage clean, efficient and sustainable energy future for our children and grandchildren. Under current law, the production tax credit is scheduled to expire in 1999, complicating the planning and development of new wind energy generation facilities.”