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A “Yea” vote on Sen. DeMint’s amendment #1589 will be scored positively on Americans for Tax Reform’s congressional rankings:

DeMint amendment #1589 (creates a fair energy market through tax reform): Modeled after Reagan’s 1986 tax reform, the DeMint amendment repeals energy tax credits and reduces the corporate tax rate by an equivalent amount. Burdened with political considerations, the federal government is ill-equipped to determine what source of energy Americans should use. Determined not to pick winners and losers, the DeMint amendment eliminates tax credits from a score of industries—from oil and natural gas companies to wind producers. A win for consumers, the DeMint amendment ensures that the most efficient, reliable, and cleanest form of energy is produced and utilized.

A “Nay” vote on Menendez/Burr amendment #1782 will be scored positively on Americans for Tax Reform’s congressional rankings:

Menendez/Burr amendment #1782 (NAT GAS Act): Congress and regulatory agencies have piled on rules and regulations in an attempt to nudge, or force, Americans to use lawmakers’ preferred energy sources. Republicans who wish to facilitate natural gas production need not support Menendez/Burr; the amendment does nothing to alleviate many supply-side concerns conservatives have. Instead, Menendez/Burr inequitably gives certain natural gas consumer an advantage over other natural gas consumers while implementing a user fee on other natural gas consumers.

Conservatives should begin peeling away the government’s consumption mandates and tax policies, not piling on more rules. Unfortunately, the NAT GAS Act takes the opposite approach—further skewing the market, inflating natural gas consumption, and potentially driving up the cost of natural gas.

Americans for Tax Reform strongly urges Senators to oppose the following amendment:

Stabenow amendment #1812 (wind tax credits): The Production Tax Credit was originally introduced to facilitate a fledgling industry. Since then, the wind industry has sufficiently matured and its power generation is even mandated in numerous states. Congress should not be in the business of propping up or aiding one source of energy over another. Given wind energy’s cost and inability to consistently generate power, it is unsurprising that this energy source supplies less than 3 percent of America’s electricity needs.

Posted by Chris Prandoni on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 11:23 AM EDT

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