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A coalition of House Democrats, environmental advocacy groups, and renewable energy trade associations are looking to take advantage of the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by sneaking several renewable energy tax credits into an economic stimulus bill.

Let’s set aside for a moment the question of whether or not such stimulus packages are actually effective . The idea that renewable energy tax credits have anything to do with responding to the COVID-19 situation is, on its...

This week the Senate will hastily begin consideration of a broad energy package compiled by Senators Murkowski and Manchin, with language included in the bill compiled from around 50 existing pieces of legislation, according to the sponsors.  While claiming to be about promoting “innovation” the bill is more accurately seen as promoting bureaucracy. The completed package weighs in at more than 550 pages and mostly consists of shuffling bureaucrats and paper within already...

After many months of speculation, we have the text of the tax extenders package. As expected, the deal extends a host of small expired or expiring tax provisions from the last several years. On the energy front, however, taxpayers have mostly dodged a bullet. With the exception a 5-year extension of the biodiesel tax credit and a one-year extension of the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC), the extenders deal does not include the host of expensive subsidies proposed by House Ways and Means...

Last week, following the grand tradition of Oprah whereby guests receive free gifts just for attending, Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Mike Thompson, announced a draft bill dubbed the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now Act (or GREEN Act).  But a better name for it would be the Everybody Gets a Car Act, or perhaps the No Green Lobbyist Left Behind Act.  Because just like an episode of Oprah’s favorite things, House Democrats are handing out free...

What is the fossil fuel divestment movement?

The fossil fuel divestment movement is a social activism campaign seeking to malign the natural gas, oil, and coal industries and pressure investors to withdraw their capital from such enterprises. Like the phrase “climate change denial,” the phrase “fossil fuel divestment” is used to convey to an uncritical audience that the social activism campaign is one of profound moral superiority to an evil alternative. The accusation of...

On Wednesday, President Trump appeared in Pittsburgh to discuss American energy policy and his commitment to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Following the appearance, Pittsburg’s mayor, William Peduto, issued a press release that made several claims misrepresenting the reality of American energy policy and the current state of the energy industry in Pennsylvania. Two of those claims are worth addressing here.

Claim 1: "President Trump’s remarks on energy and the Paris...

The American Energy Alliance urges all Senators to oppose the Congressional Review Act resolution on the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule.

The ACE rule was a necessary corrective on the overreaching Clean Power Plan (CPP) from the previous administration.  The CPP asserted entirely new federal powers from the statutory language that had a long-settled interpretation.  As was clear from the CPP's record in court proceedings, which were so negative that the rule never went into...

In April, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced the Drive America Forward Act, a bill that would expand the tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) by allowing an additional 400,000 vehicles per manufacturer to be eligible for a credit of up to $7,000. Currently, the tax credit is worth up to$7,500 until a manufacturer sells more than 200,000 vehicles. In late September, groups that stand to benefit from the extension of the federal tax credits wrote to Senator McConnell and...

Access to low-cost energy and materials has always been an important part of driving economic dynamism. Given the role that oil and natural gas play supplying our energy, people often underestimate how important oil and gas are to other things they enjoy in life, like the use of plastics. At a time when it is convenient for politicians to deride the industries that provide people access to these essential resources, it’s important to remind people just how important oil and gas are to our...

The American Energy Alliance urges all members to oppose the three anti-energy development measures scheduled for votes this week.

All three of these pieces of legislation seek to prevent development of our domestic energy resources. Domestic energy production creates jobs and economic growth, provides revenue to federal and state governments, and reduces our need for imports. Congress should not be preemptively blocking possible future development.

Both H.R. 205 and H.R. 1941...