Tom Udall: “as to the history of the wind production tax credit, the production tax credit began in the bipartisan Energy Policy Act…”

“as to the history of the wind production tax credit, the production tax credit began in the bipartisan Energy Policy Act of 1992, signed by President George H.W. Bush. It was extended in Dec. 1999, by a Republican Congress and signed into law by President Clinton. It was extended again in 2002 and 2004, this time signed into law by President George W. Bush. In 2005, it was extended again as part of bipartisan energy legislation, the 2005 Energy Policy Act. I voted for that legislation when I served in the House. In December 2006, it was extended again. Most recently, it was extended in the 2009 Recovery Act, which was signed by President Obama. Congress should continue this bipartisan tradition, and extend the wind production tax credit very soon. We should avoid the mistakes of the past, where last minute extensions led to uncertainty and job losses. I would like to thank the Senator for asking us to come to the floor, for leading this debate. This is a debate we need to carry on until we get the production tax credits and other tax extenders in place and move our clean energy industry forward. I thank the Senator for that. I yield the floor.”