Thomas Daschle: “for the last 2 years I have been working closely with a number of my colleagues to develop a package of tax incentives…”

“for the last 2 years I have been working closely with a number of my colleagues to develop a package of tax incentives to foster domestic energy alternatives and thus help reduce our growing dependence on imported oil. Along with those colleagues, I am pleased today to introduce the Energy Security Tax Act of 1999, and I am hopeful that Congress will enact this legislation in the near future. Despite periodic efforts by Congress to address this problem, since the oil price shocks of the 1970s, we have seen our dependence on foreign oil continue to grow. Today, our Nation's energy supply is more vulnerable than ever to events taking place in countries far from our shores. Solving this problem will require the collective efforts of all our Nation's energy producers. The legislation we have developed is correspondingly ambitious in its scope. It encompasses a broad range of technologies, representing the diverse regions and resources of the country. Farmers will benefit from the provisions modifying the existing tax incentive for small ethanol producers, so that farmer-owned cooperatives can utilize it, and by the establishment of tax credits for efficient irrigation equipment, conservation tillage expenses, and anaerobic digesters that convert manure and crop waste into useful gas.”