Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I wish to speak for a few minutes in support of the Ensign-Cantwell amendment that I understand is to be offered to the pending legislation.

I have long maintained that targeted tax incentives are an essential component of a new energy policy for our country. Accordingly, I look forward to voting for this amendment. Because of my longstanding commitment to fiscal responsibility, I want to also point out my disappointment that the amendment is not going to be paid for in this legislation. 

There is no denying that these incentives play a vital role in promoting clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency and, in turn, reducing our dependence on conventional fuels, promoting a more secure energy supply, and combating global warming. 

Secondarily, though also critically, these tax incentives create high-wage jobs and reduce consumer and business energy costs. 

In the 110th Congress, we have already tried three times, unsuccessfully, to extend these tax provisions. We cannot afford to wait any longer. Business decisions are not made overnight, and companies that invest in these technologies need to plan with certainty. But because of congressional inaction, companies are already putting on hold or canceling plans to create and expand investments that currently benefit from these tax incentives. 

It is because of this urgency that I plan to vote for the Cantwell-Ensign amendment. But because the extensions are not paid for, I will cast my vote with less than full enthusiasm. This amendment will add to our unsustainable budget deficits. Already we send 9 cents out of every dollar we collect to pay interest on our national debt. There is no justification, other than politics, not to offset the amendment. 

My colleagues in the House have shown greater fiscal restraint than we have in the Senate. Because they are less willing to break from the pay-go rules that have been adopted in both Chambers, I doubt that the House will accept these extensions without some corresponding offsets. This leaves the administration with a key role to play in developing a compromise that will be acceptable to both Chambers and that will be signed by the President. 

President Bush has previously committed to support these tax incentives which were enacted by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. I can recall when he visited my home State of New Mexico to sign that legislation. The President praised the bill for recognizing ``that America is the world's leader in technology and that we've got to use technology to be the world's leader in energy conservation.'' 

But while Congress has been working to ensure that America maintains this leadership role, the administration has been absent. They have rebuffed our requests to identify any acceptable offsets. Most recently, we were told by the Department of Treasury that the administration will not support the use of sufficient revenue raisers listed in its so-called blue book. Why? Because Treasury has reserved those offsets to pay for other priorities. 

I call upon the President and this administration to work with Congress in good faith to find a way to pay for these incentives. The time is far overdue to send the President a package to extend these tax provisions--a package that can pass the Congress and can be signed into law. 

I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.