Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Urgent Is as Urgent Does   [Chris Horner]

The text of the amendment the Senate will consider today regarding the Economic Rescue Plan is out.

This is an emergency financial rescue plan. They have to do it. Voting against it is irresponsible.

As part of Congress’s financial rescue, we see the following hobby horse:

SEC. 117. CARBON AUDIT OF THE TAX CODE.
a) STUDY. — The Secretary of the Treasury shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to undertake a comprehensive review of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to identify the types of and specific tax provisions that have the largest effects on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions and to estimate the magnitude of those effects. 
(b) REPORT. — Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the National Academy of Sciences shall submit to Congress a report containing the results of study authorized under this section. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. — There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $1,500,000 for the period of fiscal years 2009 and 2010.

Surely the home-mortgage interest deduction for those people we’re about to bail out — for now — will turn up in this report, right Chairman Dingell? Are congressional junkets in the tax code? Or the notion that we need to fly our bossiest members to and from California dozens of times each year for mostly wasted time?

Yeah, yeah, I know: per a Senate aide passing the language along, this is part of “H.R. 6049 as passed in the Senate (which includes AMT/Energy extenders — Keep in mind the extenders package passed 93-2 on September 23)” but stalled in the House. A measure that, apparently, cannot survive on its merits. Much like the green programs it is bailing out, like the windmill boondoggle. So it is being stuck in here.

Anyone sick of these people yet?

10/01 12:00 PMShare