David Thomas: “Mr. Chairman, as we look at this tax component, it has been characterized today in a number of different ways. Our…”

“Mr. Chairman, as we look at this tax component, it has been characterized today in a number of different ways. Our friends on the other side of the aisle like to talk about the enormous giveaway to special interests. I would like to point out that the special interests in the bill who get the major-appliance reductions for energy efficiency are the American taxpayers. Those who invest in their home in energy-efficient ways are also the special interests involved in this bill. If they buy a more fuel-efficient car, they get significant tax credits. I think Members will find that throughout this tax provision, individuals who seek conservation and alternate energy get rewarded for that behavior. That is one of the major special interests. The other area that I think needs to be emphasized that people do not talk about is under the heading of reliability. That actually gets the largest percentage of money, almost 39 percent in this tax structure, because we frankly need to deal with electric transmission lines. We need to deal with natural gas transmission lines. Then, once we develop the natural gas transmission lines for clean-burning natural gas, we need distribution lines. One of the difficulties, I think, that we forget about is that it is not just the switch on the wall. Our ability to function in a post-industrial energy-efficient world requires significant investment in infrastructure.”