Providing for Consideration of H.R. 6049, Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 6049, RENEWABLE ENERGY AND JOB CREATION ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - May 21, 2008)

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Mr. WELCH of Vermont. I thank the gentleman from New York.

This bill has many good features, and I want to speak about two. One is energy and two is children.

If we are going to take on the challenge of energy independence, then we have to start providing incentives, as we do in this bill, for wind, for solar, for biomass, for alternative energy and efficiencies. It is a confident Nation that takes on that challenge. It is a submissive Nation where the leader of our country goes hat in hand to a country that is not our friend and asks him to solve our problem by pumping more oil. This moves us in a confident direction of independence, self-sufficiency, and self-reliance.

The second is children. It is troubling I think to many of us in this country, and many of us in this body, that the gap between the wealthy and the poor has never been wider. The top five hedge fund managers last year earned $12.6 billion. The 9 million lowest income families, that was their equal income, $12.5 billion.

This bill finally increases the earned income tax credit for low-income families, bringing down the floor to $8,500, and 15 percent above that is going to be eligible. Do you know what that is going to mean just in the State of Vermont? 21,000 kids are going to get help. 21,000 kids. It also means 77 low-income kids from military families are going to get some assistance. This is money in their pocket where they too can be self-reliant.

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