Scott Fitzgerald: “my amendment removes subsidies and incentives currently in the pending bill for garbage incinerators. Many of my…”

“my amendment removes subsidies and incentives currently in the pending bill for garbage incinerators. Many of my colleagues may not realize it, but built into this energy bill is the promotion of more waste incineration around the country by defining waste incinerators as a form of renewable energy. Waste incineration is not a form of renewable energy. It is not really renewable, and it certainly isn't clean and environmentally friendly in the way of wind or solar power energy. The Daschle substitute, which is now pending, defines garbage incineration as renewable energy. Garbage incineration is, therefore, eligible for all the incentives--or what amounts to subsidies, I would say--as though it were a clean and renewable source of energy. My amendment removes the subsidies and incentives for garbage incineration by excluding solid waste incineration from the bill's definition of renewable energy. I tell my colleagues that it would be, in my judgment, a very serious mistake to allow the bill to leave this Chamber with an incentive for waste incinerators all over the country.”