The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on energy tax incentives and the green job economy. It will be webcast here.
I’m on the 1 pm panel, the one The Hill says “will likely be a media circus because of the attention [T. Boone] Pickens usually draws.” Here’s the full witness list for my panel:
T. Boone Pickens, Chairman, BP Capital, Dallas, Texas
Victor Abate, Vice President of Renewables, General Electric, Schenectady, New York
Jeffrey Sachs, Ph. D., Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York
Joseph Romm, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
The Honorable Karen Harbert, President and Chief Executive Officer, Institute for 21st Century Energy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
You can read about the Institute for 21st 19th Century’s “Catastrophic Energy Future” (and atEnergy Smart).
Here’s more on the hearing:
BACKGROUND:
Over the last several years, the nation has benefitted from an unprecedented amount of both public and private investment in renewable electricity production, energy efficiency, and renewable fuels, ushering in the new, green economy as a driver for sustainable job creation. A significant amount of Federal support for investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency is provided through the Internal Revenue Code. Within the span of five months during the Winter of 2008 and 2009, the Congress passed and the President signed into law approximately $39 billion in provisions to stimulate demand for renewable electricity and renewable fuels, provide assistance to communities to make investments in energy efficiency, and assist domestic manufacturers engaged in the production of advanced energy equipment. These investments include approximately $17 billion in incentives provided in the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 (Division B of P.L. 110-343) and approximately $22 billion in incentives provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5).
In announcing this hearing, Chairman Levin said, “Investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy has major potential to create new jobs and help our economy recover. In recent years we have made significant investments in policies to encourage and enhance domestic manufacturing and production of renewable energy as well as the use of more efficient fuel sources. This hearing will examine benefits currently in place and discuss potential for new incentives to further drive job creation, economic growth, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will examine the effectiveness of current energy tax policy and identify additional steps that the Committee can take to ensure continued job growth in this area while at the same time advancing national energy policy focus on a discussion of current and proposed energy tax incentives.
