Bipartisan U.S. Senate Panel Discusses Clean Energy Tax Breaks

A bipartisan group of at least a dozen United States senators met Wednesday to discuss tax incentives for clean energy programs as part of broader legislation to increase the United States' energy independence and combat climate change, lawmakers said.

During a 90-minute meeting in the United States Capitol, the senators, including at least four Republicans, considered a lengthy list of suggested tax credits to stimulate programs such as offshore wind technology and carbon capture and storage. Legislators stated that their goal is to craft a proposal by late June that will garner bipartisan backing in the Senate.

The group is analyzing parts of President Joe Biden's so-called Build Back Better legislation, which cleared the House last year but died in the Senate's 100-member chamber.

"We're attempting to ensure our country's energy independence, to determine how we can use what we have more efficiently, and to assist in the development of new technologies," Senator Joe Manchin, who is leading the initiative, told reporters.

"This is a significant accomplishment," said Manchin, one of two moderate Democrats whose opposition to Biden's plan contributed to the legislation's defeat. "We're investigating everything possible."

Republican Senator Kevin Cramer stated that the group's next step will be to contact specialists to ascertain the environmental and economic benefits associated with the renewable energy technology detailed in several pages of suggestions.

"Clearly, we cannot fund everything. It's merely a massive wish list. It reads similarly to what Santa considers in the run-up to Christmas, "Cramer explained to reporters.

Cramer stated that the discussion included a suggestion to bring a greater portion of the solar panel supply chain to the United States. "If we're going to conduct more business with our allies and bring more goods to the US... there are some additional residual benefits that I believe merit some consideration," he said.