On February 13, Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), along with twenty-four of their Senate Colleagues sent a letter to Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Ranking Member Judd Gregg (R-NH) encouraging that they include significant funding for energy efficient programs and clean energy tax incentives in the FY09 Senate budget resolution.
The letter states that, "The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 authorize billions of dollars for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) account at the Department of Energy. We recognize the difficult fiscal constraint facing the budget committee as it crafts the 2009 resolution. Therefore, we request that the Committee increase funding for these programs as close as possible to the $3.8 billion authorized level in EPAct 05. This level of investment will allow these programs to make a real impact on reducing our nations' energy demand."
In addition, the Senators said, EPAct 2005 created energy efficiency and renewable energy tax incentives that are critical to investments in clean energy technologies. Some of these incentives expired in 2007, and many more will expire at the end of 2008. They also urged the Budget Committee to allow room in the FY 2009 budget resolution for multi-year extensions and enhancements to those important tax incentives.
In addition to Sens. Reed and Snowe, the following Senators signed the letter: Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Susan Collins(R-ME), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Arlen Specter (R-PA), Daniel Akaka (D-HA), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Richard Lugar (D-IN), John Kerry (D-MA), Norm Coleman (D-MN), Chris Dodd (D-CT), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Carl Levin (D-MI), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Evan Bayh (D-IN).