FISA Amendments Act of 2007

Floor Speech

FISA AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2007 -- (Senate - January 24, 2008)

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Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, as my colleagues are trying to sort out issues related to scheduling votes, and I certainly do care about the pending issue and making sure that we come to a resolution that will protect a variety of interests, I rise now to speak specifically about the economic stimulus package which the Senate is going to take up next week.

We all know there has been a downturn in the economy caused by persistent high energy costs and an ongoing mortgage crisis, and we know we are seeing damages to both individual households and to businesses. We know that layoffs are accelerating, gas and home heating prices are skyrocketing, making us face some of the biggest economic challenges we have seen in years. So I think it is very important, Mr. President, that we continue on this rapid pace to get a stimulus package. And that is the good news; that in a bipartisan effort we have been working diligently along with the White House to immediately get some stimulus into the economy and help working people and businesses that are struggling.

I think our goal should be that we identify measures that are timely, targeted, and, when possible, address the underlying causes of our economic problems--that is getting money in people's pockets, I believe, must be a key component of this package. I have been following what the other side of the Capitol has been doing, the House of Representatives is working on a formidable package, and I know we are discussing a variety of issues here. But I believe any package should take the opportunity to invest in critical business stimulus measures that can alleviate some of the underlying problems that are causing Americans economic heartburn.

We are seeing oil prices in recent weeks hovering around $100 a barrel and natural gas prices remaining at exceedingly historic highs, which I think is adding great impact to what Americans are doing in trying to deal with this economy. In fact, a Los Angeles Times article in December cited economists' fear that high energy costs could ignite inflation. This would just aggravate our economic problems further.

High energy costs make it much more difficult for our manufacturing and agricultural sectors to make ends meet. Today the National Farmers Union came out in favor of a proposal that I think we should put into our stimulus package, and one that I am about to describe. It is an opportunity to include in the stimulus package incentives that both dramatically boost economic activity in 2008 and take an important step toward reducing energy costs.

I believe we should consider an extension of the clean energy tax incentives in the stimulus package. They meet the definition of short-term stimulus, targeted and timely. They have the benefit of getting immediate short-term results--that is, significant economic activity and new jobs in 2008. And they also result in long-term benefits which will help us deal with the underlying problem that is causing so much havoc with our economy, and that is high energy costs.

Mr. President, the American Wind Energy Association estimates that extending the production tax credit will result in as many as 75,000 new jobs in 2008 and $7 billion of capital spending over the next 12 months. All by Congress making the right decisions about tax incentives for the wind industry.

I think that would be a big boost to our economy. Wind generation alone has accounted for over 30 percent of our new generation placed in service last year. This industry is well beyond what some might consider a pilot phase and has significant sources of job diversity for the United States.

Likewise, the solar industry estimates that up to 40,000 new jobs could actually be lost in the next 12 months if we do not extend the investment tax credit. That is right; not only do those tax credits add stimulus to the economy, we should understand that by not doing them, by not passing them, we are actually taking away economic opportunity and investment plans that people would be making this year.

Included in this package are also four energy efficiency incentives for consumers. As a Deutsche Bank report released last November said:

Gains in efficiency will have the effect of muting the effect of expensive oil.

If we want to get consumers to go shopping, why not encourage them to buy items that will reduce their energy costs? Everybody wins when this happens. Consumers get lower bills, retailers get more economic activity, and it reduces the upward pressure on prices by mitigating demand. All of which helps the overall economy rebound faster.

This is the kind of economic stimulus we need. It helps with jobs, it helps diversify the energy industry. The clean energy industry is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise slumping economy. Unless those incentives are extended in this quarter, we are taking a risk at an even steeper downturn in an industry that saw remarkable results in 2007.

Mr. President, that's why we need to make sure we extend these critical clean energy tax incentives. I will remind my colleagues that the three times Congress let the clean energy tax incentives lapse, the wind industry saw a 75- to 93-percent decline the following year, because we were not giving them the predictability in tax incentives. So while I am very happy to make sure the public is getting the incentives in the form of rebate checks, I also want to say to my constituents that we are also putting a variety of solutions on the table, that we are trying to deal with problems that will help them not just in the near term, but also to solve the underlying problem of high energy costs that is a drag on our economy.

I know some of my colleagues will probably talk about lots of different ways we can stimulate infrastructure development, but I will say that this is about a business tax investment strategy. These clean energy incentives will stimulate billions of dollars of capital outlay now in the next 12 months, and be a huge source of new job creation.

An immediate cash infusion into the economy is necessary, but we should not lose sight of the fact that this has the additional benefit of helping us with our long-term problem.

I look forward to working with my colleagues on an extension of these clean energy incentives as part of the stimulus package, and to demonstrate the leadership and foresight that we have here in the Senate to make the right decisions about a package that will simultaneously provide us near term economic boost, prevent job loss, and help solve high energy costs.

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