Max Baucus: “One of the big provisions is the Finance Committee-passed tax package which I believe members of the Finance Committee…”

“One of the big provisions is the Finance Committee-passed tax package which I believe members of the Finance Committee believe very much should be part of this bill. The Finance Committee has worked long and hard on tax provisions to help wean America from OPEC. They are not huge incentives, but on the margin they will help a bit. They are divided roughly equally between conservation incentives on the one hand and production incentives on the other. The conservation incentives are renewable energy provisions. For example, they extend and modify what is called the section 45 credit. In addition, the alternative fuels and alternative-fuel vehicles credit is to help America develop automobiles that are much more fuel efficient so we will consume fewer gallons of gasoline for every mile driven. There are a lot of great ideas, whether hybrids or fuel cells, but it is important to give those incentives. There are also some conservation and energy-efficiency incentives for energy efficiency in existing homes, for new home construction, a credit for residential solar, for example, wind, fuel cell properties, a credit for more efficient air-conditioners, water heaters, heat pumps, and the list goes on.”