Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act of 2008

RENEWABLE ENERGY AND JOB CREATION TAX ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - September 26, 2008)

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Mr. DOGGETT. Perhaps the sixth time will be the charm. This is the sixth time that this House has approved this legislation to encourage more renewable energy, more solar energy, more wind energy, and provisions that I authored that will encourage plug-in hybrid vehicles and geothermal heat pumps and will promote small business development of biodiesel.

American innovation can fuel new jobs and increase exports abroad. We can put more green where it really counts, in the wallets and in the purses of the working families of America.

The choice is ours. We can either run this new economy that is less dependent on fossil fuels, or we can get run over by it.

Now, really this is not a House/Senate dispute. This is about the Republicans taking the renewable energy bill hostage. Their approach boils down to this: They absolutely refuse to let us take America forward into a less fossil fuel-dependent economy unless we borrow the money to do it.

We all know what the George Bush approach has been for 8 years. ``What, me worry?'' Well, his philosophy is ``just swipe the debt on the national credit card.'' Just borrow a little more money, whether it's the cost of the Iraq war, or it's $700 billion for a Wall Street bailout. ``Don't worry, it's a free lunch. What, me worry? No, just put it on the credit card.''

And that's what they're saying this morning. They will not let us move forward with renewable energy and a new green economy unless we borrow more money. How much more money do they think the American people can stand to borrow?

Under President George Bush we have added almost $4 trillion, more than all the presidents before him put together borrowing from foreign sources. And they want us to borrow even more before they will allow us to do what the American people want, and that is, to look to the future.

If this George Bush bailout proposal has taught us anything, it is the danger of over-borrowing.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. I yield the gentleman 15 more seconds.

Mr. DOGGETT. The President's answer to us this morning regarding an over-leveraged Wall Street is to further over-leverage the American people.

Today's bill doesn't make that mistake. If it's worth doing, it's worth paying for. That's what we do.

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