On Wednesday, October 10, the EXTEND coalition met with Arshi Siddiqui, Tax Policy Advisor for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), to encourage the inclusion of significant energy efficiency tax incentives in the final "energy independence" bill. The EXTEND coalition includes a broad cross-section of industries that are encouraging increased energy efficiency tax incentives. The group at Wednesday's meeting included representatives from Morgan Meguire, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), insulation manufactures, large commercial retailers and building developers.
When asked whether a tax title would be included in a final product, since the Senate bill does not have one, she said "the Speaker is working to that end." She predicted that House and Senate tax staff, in tandem with Leadership, would start with the how to pay for the package (i.e. "offsets") and that this decision would drive the size of the tax title and, ultimately, what incentives would be included. The Senate committee-passed package was over $28 billion, while the House package was $15.3 billion. The sense was that tax negotiators would shoot for a modest energy tax title, somewhere around $10 billion, with as many non-controversial offsets as possible.
As for timing, she said the Speaker would like to produce a final energy bill conference report prior to the scheduled November 17 adjournment. She said the House could come back in early December, but only to vote on appropriations bills or conference reports - including, possibly, the energy conference report.