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For
Immediate Release Contact: Betsy Hart
September 16, 2008 (202) 226-8555
HERSETH SANDLIN HELPS PASS COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY LEGISLATION
Bill Dramatically Expands Access to Drilling Offshore; Includes
E85 Infrastructure Credit; Extends Popular Production Tax Credit for
Wind
Washington, DC, September 16, 2008 – Rep.
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin today helped pass comprehensive energy legislation
that will enhance our energy security by dramatically opening public
land offshore for responsible oil and gas development; providing incentives
for renewable energy production; and enhancing energy efficiency standards.
Notably, the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection
Act, H.R. 6899, includes an extension of the popular and critical wind
energy production tax credit, as well as a provision to improve the
current E85 infrastructure credit.
“I’ve come to the same conclusion most South Dakotans have when it comes
to energy legislation: we’re not going to bring down the price of gas
or enhance our energy security by fighting the same old fights,” Rep.
Herseth Sandlin said. “We need to come together around a bipartisan
compromise, and this comprehensive energy legislation includes a range
of provisions that will help to meet our short and long-term energy
needs, including opening at least 319 million acres for offshore drilling
– far and away the largest opening of offshore areas for oil and gas
development since the moratoria were put in place more than twenty-five
years ago.”
The bill would result in an estimated 85% of total oil on the Continental
Shelf being open for leasing and drilling. From 50 - 100 miles out from
the coasts, states can opt-in to oil and gas drilling by enactment of
a state law. The remaining Outer Continental Shelf beyond 100 miles
would be open to oil and gas drilling without any further action.
Herseth Sandlin added, “The inclusion of these provisions to open up
more of the waters off our coasts to responsible drilling represents
an important breakthrough and compromise. We need to increase domestic
production as part of a comprehensive solution.”
The bill also allows Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado to opt in to exploration,
development, and production of oil shale reserves – a vast untapped
energy resource.
In addition to the provisions for expanded domestic production of oil
and gas, The Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection
Act contains roughly $18 billion in renewable energy tax incentives
that stand to benefit South Dakota, including the critical extension
of the Production Tax Credit for wind, which the House has already passed
this year. The bill also includes a provision previously approved by
the House to require that 15% of electricity come from renewable sources
– like the natural abundance of wind harnessed by turbines across South
Dakota.
Herseth Sandlin said, “Now is the time to capitalize on the tremendous
potential wind energy holds for our state and our country. By extending
the production tax credit and requiring that more of our nation’s electricity
come from renewable sources like wind, we help to ensure the continued
development of the burgeoning wind industry in South Dakota and across
much of the Great Plains. The House has voted in favor of both of these
measures this Congress and I’m hopeful the Senate will follow suit in
short order. We need to give entrepreneurs and innovators the certainty
they need to invest in this important industry.”
The bill also includes an improved E85 Infrastructure Credit, which
is similar to Herseth Sandlin’s E85 and Biodiesel Access Act. Currently,
gas station owners can claim only a 30 percent credit for the cost of
installing qualifying clean-fuel vehicle refueling property up to a
maximum of $30,000, and the IRS only allows the taxpayer to claim the
credit for the amount a dual purpose fuel dispenser exceeds the cost
of equivalent conventional refueling dispensers. The language in H.R.
6899 increases the percentage from 30 to 50 percent, and the maximum
credit to $50,000. The National Ethanol Vehicle Association has said
that if the E85 and Biodiesel Access Act became law: “the nation would
have no less than 10,000 E85 fueling sites in a short period of time.”
“The bill we passed today makes important enhancements to the existing
tax credit in order to greatly increase the relatively small number
of existing E85 pumps. Although the bill does not go quite as far as
my bill proposed, it represents a good step forward,” Herseth Sandlin
concluded.
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Congresswoman
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin serves South Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives.
She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats
committed to fiscal discipline and strong national security, and is
co-chair of the Rural Working Group, which is dedicated to raising the
profile of issues important to rural America. She also serves on three
committees vital to South Dakota’s interests: Agriculture, Veterans’
Affairs and Natural Resources. In the 110th Congress, Rep. Herseth Sandlin
was one of only 15 members appointed to serve on the Select Committee
on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
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