WTF?! Pelosi and Reid are planning to REMOVE Renewable Energy Tax Credits from Energy Bill. :(

[garybeck]

(forwarded from solar activist / associate)
---------------------------------------------

Dear Solar Citizen,

We pass along very few messages, but this is one that is urgent. We have learned that the House and Senate leadership, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid have decided to remove several provisions from the Energy bill that would benefit solar and other renewable energy technologies. At a time when oil is going to hit $100, when climate news is worse every day, and when domestic supply reports keep dropping, we need these provisions in the energy bill more than ever.

Please call your Representative and Senator and ask them to speak to the leadership and tell them to include the tax provisions in the energy legislation. Tell them that they must bring the right bill, the bill that America needs, to the House and Senate floor. And if Senators wish to filibuster the bill, let them.Better to have no bill than to have a bill that supports the traditional coal, oil and nuclear industries while doing nothing for renewable energy.

Please also see the several talking points below. There is also a website where you can quickly find the phone numbers for your Representative and Senator.

If you do not get a live person, please ask them, on their voice mail recording, to get back to you with their actions.

Thanks,


---------------------------


Subject: SEIA Alert 11/9/2007: Call NOW to Keep the Solar Tax Credits in the Energy Bill!!
Importance: High

SEIA Alert 11/9/2007: Call Now to Keep the Solar Tax Credits in the Energy Bill!!

Dear SEIA Members,

Senate and House Democratic Leaders are now considering a plan to leave renewable energy out of the Energy Bill. There are widespread reports that a decision has been made, at least provisionally, to move energy legislation without a tax title that extends the Solar Investment Tax Credits (ITC). Together, we can reverse this decision!

Please call your Representative and both Senators and ask them to urge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) to keep the ITC extension in the Energy Bill. The Energy Bill is expected to be voted on at the end of next week. A bill without the solar ITC provisions would be a tremendous lost opportunity for our industry and our country.

To locate your Representative and Senators’ Washington phone number, go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt <http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt> and type in your company’s Zip Code. Alternatively, you can reach your Representative and Senators’ offices through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121.

Talking Points:

· I work for (name of company) in your district (describe the company)
· The solar investment tax credits are critical to our company’s business and must be part of the energy bill this year!

· The solar tax credits would decrease energy costs, increase energy independence, and create more jobs in your district

· We need you to speak to Senator Reid / Speaker Pelosi and tell them how important it is to your constituents to keep solar tax credits in the energy bill.


What the Solar Industry Needs

· Eight-year extension of the 30% business ITC under Section 48
· Six-year extension of the 30% residential ITC under Section 25D
· Elimination of the existing $2,000 limit on the 30% residential solar ITC under Section 25D
· Permit corporate and individual taxpayers to claim the ITC against the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
· Elimination of the public utility exception to the ITC.

For full details on the current legislation and SEIA’s position, visit: http://seia.org/ITC_Conference_Factsheet.pdf <http://seia.org/ITC_Conference_Factsheet.pdf>


Noah Kaye
Director of Public Affairs
Solar Energy Industries Association

[ixion]

1. because in truth, it's all about Big Energy

and really not about We, the people.

[Blaze Diem]

Like Bush's base, have Pelosi & Reid been promised riches & status

beyond their wildest dreams for eternity? Maybe they haven't been threatened so much, rather they have been bought.

k&r
Yep, you are correct. Bottom line = Big oil.

[Deja Q]

31. If only it was that easy.

[tom_paine]

45. Threatened, bought, or whatever, it no longer matters. Only their actions matter.

I am sick of wondering how and why they have been neutralized into the most pathetic toadies since the German Social Democrats of 1933.

That fact is that they have.

[gateley]

2. Do we know WHY they are taking this measure? (This ought to be good.)

:sarcasm:

[leftofthedial]

40. including support for renewable energy would be a distraction from the real agenda

they are geniuses

[bagrman]

47. just a distraction.

[acmavm]

3. Golly, why would they do that? Maybe because they have so

many oil corporations to prop up that they don't want any investment in renewable energy? They feel the need to prop up the Saudi government? What exactly are they doing.

They sure aren't doing anything for the American people. Us or future generations.

[NightWatcher]

4. are they even DINO's anymore? I think we should call them Fascist Lites

who is worse, the evil doer or the ones who grant complicity without protest?

[Beelzebud]

5. I really wish our party wasn't being run by these losers...

[NoFederales]

6. The SHIT never ends does it? Why? And it's not just Republicans

kicking the chamber pots. I expect to see it made illegal, very soon, that individuals--including small farmers--to run ethanol distilleries. What's it going to take to remove Corporate Power?

NoFederales

[robinlynne]

11. well, not ethanol, because Jeb Bush is the biggest ethanol importer....

[gateley]

26. Interesting fact and good to know - thanks. nt

[Swamp Rat]

7. k&r

[MadHound]

8. Hmm, I wonder,

How many campaign contributions have Reid and Pelosi received from Big Oil? I wonder what the price was to once again sell out this country to the oil companies?
And people wonder why Americans are so dissatisfied with this current Congress and its leadership.

[magellan]

9. Why bother?

We've been through this many times, and we always learn there's a good reason for what the Dems do and don't do no matter how it appears superficially to us. Let them get on with the People's Business.

Is this where I stick the sarcasm thingy?

[garybeck]

10. never give up.

the day we give up is the day we die

[Ganja Ninja]

12. Please call your Senator and Congressman now!

And tomorrow!
And the day after that!
And the day after that!
And the day after that!
And the day after that!
And the day after that!
And the day after that!

And keep calling and begging them to do the right thing.

Call them until you're blue in the face even though chances are slim to none that it will have any effect let alone a lasting effect.

And while you're calling and sitting on hold you might ask yourself why your representative has to prodded and begged and threatened with a voter revolt just to get them to do what's right for the environment and the country.

[bbgrunt]

13. disgusting and beyond frustrating.

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. Their Corporate Masters don't like renewable energy

Pelosi and Reid know their master's voice.

[durablend]

41. Two guys with Chinese-sounding names

"KA" and "CHING"

[slipslidingaway]

15. I believe this is the bill number...H.R. 3221

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-3221

You can access the Thomas site from the above link, left hand side under Primary Source "See H.R. 3221 on THOMAS for the official source of information on this bill."


From Thomas
"Sponsor: Rep Pelosi, Nancy (introduced 7/30/2007) Cosponsors (18)
Related Bills: H.RES.615, H.R.6, H.R.2776, H.R.3220
Latest Major Action: 9/5/2007 Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 340.
Note: On 10-19-2007, there was a unanimous consent request to consider H.R. 3221 in the Senate but objection was heard. (CR S13150)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAJOR ACTIONS: )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAJOR ACTIONS:
7/30/2007 Introduced in House
8/4/2007 Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 241 - 172 (Roll no. 832).
9/5/2007 Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 340."


In big U.S. energy bill, who will pay?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1107/p01s01-wogi.html?page=1

[mmonk]

16. Send in Al Gore

[woundedkarma]

32. It's like calling for superman

But Superman has given up his powers so he can be with Lois lane and get punched by jerks.

[progressoid]

17. Oferpetesake

What the hell is wrong with these people?

[skipos]

18. contacted my reps. nt

[NotGivingUp]

19. If people don't know by now that Pelosi and Reid are not working for the people

then I've got some swampland to sell you.

[Baby Snooks]

43. Solve the problem...

Their constituents should be verifying whether they can or cannot be recalled and if they cannot, then their constituents should be seeking out challengers. And if they're not, well, their state party should be demanding they do so. And if Pelosi and Reid are on the ballot next time, well, maybe no one should vote for them or write in the name of a Democrat regardless of whether they won the primary or not. Better to let a Republican win by default. But really not what people want. But who wants Pelosi and Reid at this point?

Sorry, Skinner, but really. Pelosi and Reid have shot the bird enough at those who elected them as well as at the entire party and at the American people. Republican as well as Democrat. Bush and Cheney's poll numbers should indicate there is support for impeachment by Republicans as well as Democrats.

Party loyalty means nothing if there is no loyalty to the party on the part of the politician the party elects.

And, again, shame on Cindy Sheehan. Change the party within the party. The only hope for this country right now is the Democratic Party. Too many people will not vote for an Independent. Particularly after Lieberman. But too many Democrats are not really Democrats.

So where is the option for Republicans who are fed up with their party?

[ladjf]

20. Why are we unable to kick those crooks out? (nt)

[diane in sf]

21. kick this for Tuesday--Pelosi's local office is closed for Veterans Day

and the messages are full

[The Stranger]

22. Hey, stop complaining -- or we'll throw you out of the Party and out of DU!

:sarcasm:

[onenote]

23. My guess is that they may be doing it to save the bill

Both Pelosi and Reid have been advocates for renewable energy. But trying to hold together a majority on the energy bill to get it passed has been challenging, not in small part because a very sizable coalition of Democrats have been loathe to get on board. This article from last July describes the problem that Pelosi faced, with a bloc of 47 Democrats prepared to oppose the bill.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/07/31/pelosi_gains_support_for_energy_bill/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News

Sometime you have to drastically prune a tree, and make it ugly as hell, to save it. It sucks, but I'm guessing that is what is going on.

[bvar22]

24. "Pruning the tree" is a good idea.

And there are 47 Dem reps that need to be pruned.

Pelosi has been around long enough to know how to twist some arms.

[redqueen]

25. How disgusting.

:puke:

$$$$$$$$$$ makes the rules... we don't count for shit anymore with these crooks.

[garybeck]

28. when you try to prune a tree and you end up cutting the trunk, you

no longer have a tree.

the solar tax credits are possibly the most important part of the bill.

[OzarkDem]

30. Why would Democrats oppose subsidies

for alternative energy development? One would think Pelosi could at least deliver the Dem vote on this bill. Why would Dems oppose it?

[onenote]

33. I'm not trying to defend it, just explain it. And, no, I can't figure why anyone would oppose

the credits for alternative energy development either.

[Uncle Joe]

27. I believe, Nevada and much of the south and west, not to mention the rest of the nation

could reap a major benefit from solar energy. This short term thinking is what's killing us. If the oil business people had any sense, they would start switching over to solar or wind, lest they become the stagecoach to the train.


Thanks for the thread, garybeck.

[me b zola]

29. k&r

[Dukkha]

34. no surprise here

that the Dishonorable Nancy Pelosi-R would be against something that is not only the correct course to be taking against oil dependency but is very desperately needed right now oil surpasses $100/barrel. It is a sound economic and ecological investment but the very unsound absence of logic from ex-Dems will kill that hope once again.

[sss1977]

35. lovely...

This is where these idiots tell themselves, they are doing what's best because they are able to pass the bill. See, the bill has a name, and it's a bill and it's all that matters. The content doesn't matter to them. What does matter is that when it's time to run for re-election, they can proudly point out that they voted yes on the "Renewable Energy Bill". Hurray for them, they have the ability to walk without a spine, and pass bills under Orwellian names.

Shame on them.

And shame on us if they get re-elected.

[Greyhound]

36. These are the people that are going to fix this mess? n/t

[OneBlueSky]

37. I swear, BushCo must have photos of them doing the nasty . . . with each other . . . n/t

.

[gulfcoastliberal]

38. And what happened to reversing tax beaks to big oil? Corrupt scum.

No difference between parties at all.

[leftofthedial]

39. WTF??

What the hell is wrong with these assholes?

[rucognizant]

42. I was almost run over by an old women in an SUV the other day.

Ran into the old fool at the gas station after that. I was so furious at the $3.58 per gal diesel fuel, I went up and scolded her. Well she got it and was so apologetic that she almost ran over me......but that she was driving the price of fuel way beyond my means by using so much of it..she JUST DIDN"T GET! SHe sold her car when her husband died ...& then............she, "I LOVE MY SUV" she crooned. If she had been driving a noirmal size carshe would have seen me walking across the street! How many people are killed each year BY SUV's?

How about a "sin tax " on SUVs to fund poor childen's health insurance...it would bring in a lot more money than a cigarette tax! Way more SUV drivers!:+ :+ :+ :evilgrin: :smoke: :applause:

[Sam Ervin jret]

44. What ? Have they been into the "hemp like substance" they are so afraid of?

The ideas are all around us. The answers are ours. The problems are of our own making. the solutions are as well. We simply need to get our GREED out of the way.

By the time GREEN ENERGY becomes as profitable as BLACK energy (oil, coal etc..) the damage done to our world will be dangerous for us and for many other life forms.

We used to say, when I was a kid, "Save the Earth." We had save the "Earth"day. But the truth is earth will go on. Life will, in many different forms go on. The question is; "Will we be one of the forms of life that go on?" Even if we do, will we want to live in a world with the quilt and the pain caused by what we have done to the rest of the lifeforms we killed on mass because of our GREED?

The earth is safe. It's Humanity in the best sense of the word that is endangered.

[debbierlus]

46. Pelosi & Reid are SELL OUTS - We must REMOVE them

And, replace them with PROGRESSIVE democrats

They are worse then Republicans. Why? They shield themselves behind a D. I prefer a known enemy instead of a backstabbing
lie to your face & then do the opposite type enemy.

They need to go.

[happygoluckytoyou]

48. IN A RELATED STORY----

BUSH'S SOLAR POWERED BRAIN SUFFERS FROM A SERIES OF CLOUD COVERS.

------ I HAVE CONTACTED MY SENATORS ETC...... URGE ALL TO FOLLOW SUIT ON THIS......

---------------YOU KNOW WHEN WE WILL HAVE AN INVESTMENT IN SOLAR ENERGY...

---------------------------WHEN THE BUSH CRIME FAMILY PURCHASES THE SUN
---------------------------WHEN THE CHENEY CRIME FAMILY BUILDS A 10000000 FOOT UMBRELLA

[NNN0LHI]

49. The president of this company used to be a Republican congresswoman

Something stinks with this story. Doesn't anyone check to see if they are regurgitating RNC talking points before posting them?

Don

http://www.solaralliance.org/

Welcome to the Solar Alliance!

We are a state-focused alliance of manufacturers, integrators and financiers that are dedicated to accelerating the promise of solar energy in the United States.

We specifically target our efforts to help legislators, regulators and utilities make the transition to solar power by providing the technical and policy expertise that is in the best interest of residential, commercial and government customers and Americans as a whole.

The Solar Alliance works closely with the Solar Energy Industries Association as it pursues national solar policy and with local solar advocates within our targeted states. It is our intention to form coalitions with corporations, grass roots organizations, academic institutions as well as local governments that advocate solar energy, so that we may all speak with one stronger voice.

Our targeted states at this time include, but are not limited to; California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida, Massachusetts and Ohio.

Current Board Members include:

BP Solar, Conergy, Energy Innovations, Evergreen Solar, First Solar, Kyocera Solar, MMA Renewable Ventures, PPM Energy, Inc, Sanyo Energy, Schott Solar, Sharp Electronics Corp.-Solar Energy Solutions Group, SolarWorld, SunEdison, SunPower, Suntech and Uni-Solar.

Associate Members are:

American Solar Electric, DT Solar-Turner Renewable Energy, REC Solar, SPG Solar, Mitsubishi Electric and Xantrex.

We thank you for your interest and look forward to working with you toward a sustainable solar future.

Warm regards,

Claudine

Hon. Claudine Schneider

President, Solar Alliance


http://www.infoplease.com/biography/us/congress/schneider-claudine.html

SCHNEIDER, Claudine, a Representative from Rhode Island; born Claudine Cmarada in Clairton, Pa., March 25, 1947; attended parochial schools; studied at the University of Barcelona, Spain, and Rosemont College (Pa.); B.A., Windham College (Vt.), 1969; attended University of Rhode Island School of Community Planning; founder, Rhode Island Committee on Energy, 1973; executive director, Conservation Law Foundation, 1974; federal coordinator, Rhode Island Coastal Zone Management Program, 1978; producer and host of public affairs television program, Providence, R.I., 1978-1979; elected as a Republican to the Ninety-seventh and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1981-January 3, 1991); was not a candidate for reelection in 1990 to the One Hundred Second Congress but was an unsuccessful nominee for the United States Senate; member of the faculty, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; is a resident of Narragansett, R.I.


http://www.claudineschneider.com/

Current Position

Today, Claudine is an independent consultant.

She has been serving as the Corporate Social Responsibility Advisor to the Board of National Grid, one of the world's largest and most respected utilities.

In addition, she has a contract with the Environmental Protection Agency to work with corporations to reduce their greenhouse gases. In all, she has enlisted over 30 Fortune 500 companies including CitiGroup, HSBC, United Technologies, Roche, Raytheon, Boise Cascade and Volvo Trucks.

[Javaman]

50. Oh come on, it's all in the phrasing..

it's the non-renewable renewable energy bill.

Please brush up on your newspeak will you?