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Sen. McConnell Succeeds On Energy And Taxes

September 25, 2008

To: Team Mitch Supporters
From: Justin Brasell and Scott Jennings, Campaign Advisors
Re: Senator McConnell succeeds on energy and taxes
 

Over the last few days, the troubles in our economy have come into focus.  It’s imperative – now more than ever – that we have leaders in Washington, D.C., who are fighting for sound fiscal policy to protect taxpayers and the Main Street small businesses that fuel Kentucky’s economy.  To that end, Senator McConnell is driving action on two important issues – tax policy and energy.

On Tuesday the Senate passed tax incentives which will save taxpayers money and which Senator McConnell helped broker.

Most importantly, the bill protects 137,000 Kentucky taxpayers who would get hit with a massive tax increase next year if we failed to protect them from the Alternative Minimum Tax – saving them an average of $2,000.   That’s money that Kentucky families need right now, and Senator McConnell is proud to help them keep it.

The bill also includes a wide array of tax incentives for development of clean American sources of energy - like plug-in hybrids and coal to liquids – that will help make us less dependent on Middle Eastern oil.  

Senator McConnell is leading the charge toward American energy independence. Later this week, the Senate is poised to pass legislation that lifts the moratorium on drilling off our coasts and allow us to develop our vast oil shale resources.

Drilling off our coasts.  Using American oil shale resources.  Creating incentives for plug-in hybrids and conservation.  Sound familiar?  It’s exactly what Senator McConnell proposed in the Gas Price Reduction Act earlier this year.  Another victory for the people of Kentucky.

Senator Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her allies aren’t happy and say it will be up to the next President and the next Congress to determine whether these changes are permanent.  That’s why it is critical that we elect strong leaders like Mitch McConnell and John McCain who will fight to expand domestic production, reduce our dependency on foreign oil, and lower gas prices.

Your assistance in this campaign is critical.  We need volunteers to keep up the fight to ensure American energy independence and lower taxes.

Take a look at the article below from the Washington Post.  Without Senator McConnell’s leadership in Washington, neither of these victories would have been possible. Because of his persistence offshore drilling and lower taxes will become reality.  Thanks for your help on this important campaign.

House Democrats to Let Ban on Drilling Expire
Senate Approves $100 Billion Tax Break
By Paul Kane  Washington Post  September 24, 2008; A02

Congressional Democrats bowed to political pressure yesterday and agreed to let the ban on offshore oil drilling expire, a decision that would allow exploration just three miles off the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines unless the next president reinstates an executive branch order that prohibits drilling.
 
Democrats said they gave in to White House demands rather than risk a showdown over the "continuing resolution" Congress must pass to fund the federal government through next March. A new drilling moratorium would have been included in that wide-ranging measure, along with money for home heating assistance for the poor and a loan program for the auto industry that remain in the bill.
 
"At least temporarily, the moratorium is lifted. This next election will decide what our drilling policy is going to be," said Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.), chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
 
Earlier this year, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) reversed his long-held opposition to offshore drilling. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has supported efforts at compromise that include drilling limits ranging from 50 to 100 miles offshore.
 
The most ardent drilling opponents, who contend that exploration of the outer continental shelf puts oceans at risk without producing short-term relief for gasoline prices, said there is still time for the next president and future Congresses to work out a new compromise before oil rigs are erected within sight of the nation's coasts.
 
Drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico will remain prohibited within 125 miles of shore under a separate provision in the 2006 energy bill.
 
The Democratic reversal on drilling came as the Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve a $100 billion extension of tax breaks, including incentives for renewable energy sources and the annual patch that will prevent millions of households from receiving higher tax bills under the alternative minimum tax.
 
But House Democrats continued objecting to the financing for those tax provisions and plan to alter the language later this week, prolonging a fight over legislation that industry and environmental activists have championed all year.
 
The congressional drilling moratorium, which dates to the early 1980s, has been included in the annual appropriations bills that fund federal agencies, with this year's ban set to expire on Tuesday. In July, President Bush lifted an executive branch moratorium. Congressional Republicans spent the summer holding rallies and protests demanding that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) allow votes on more domestic oil production.
 
"Lifting these outdated bans is a long overdue but crucial step toward American energy independence," House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said yesterday.
 
Pelosi had hoped to include alternative measures in the continuing resolution that would have allowed drilling within 50 miles of either coast if state legislatures approved, but she faced objections from the White House.
 
"The White House made it clear that any new drilling provision was a non-starter," said Drew Hammill, Pelosi's spokesman.
 
As part of the continuing resolution, Democrats did gain concessions for an additional $5 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, more than $23 billion for disaster relief and as much as $25 billion in loan guarantees to help the auto industry produce more hybrid vehicles.
 
The continuing resolution is expected to be approved by the House today and the Senate later this week.