{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=251A2E88-812B-4E2F-992D-615AB0B18D99", "Alexander Introduces Amendment to End Wind Production Tax Credit At the End of This Year", "2017-11-30", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\u201cYou don\u2019t need to be an accountant to know that our tax code is too complicated, takes too many dollars away from working Americans and makes it harder to create good-paying jobs\u2026 The wind production tax credit is a perfect example of the kind of provision Congress should kiss goodbye.\u201d\u00a0\r\nWASHINGTON, November 30, 2017 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today introduced an amendment to the Senate tax reform bill that would end the wind production tax credit at the end of this year, instead of\u00a0two years from now.\r\n\u201cYou don\u2019t need to be an accountant to know that our tax code is too complicated, takes too many dollars away from working Americans, and makes it harder to create good-paying jobs. Congress is focused on making our backward tax code into something that encourages our nation\u2019s instinct for creativity and innovation,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cAs we look at all the wasteful and unnecessary tax breaks that are holding us back, the wind production tax credit is a perfect example of the kind of provision Congress should kiss goodbye.\u201d\r\nAlexander continued, \u201cThe subsidy for Big Wind hasn\u2019t come cheap: In just eight years \u2014 from 2008 to 2015 \u2014 the credit cost taxpayers $9.6 billion, more than a billion dollars a year. And it gets worse: The credit is expected to cost taxpayers more than $23 billion over just five years from 2016 to 2020, according to the Congressional Research Service \u2013 and the cost to taxpayers will continue until 2029 because when you extend the wind production tax credit for one year, it\u2019s really for ten years.\r\n\u201cIt hasn\u2019t done much for most Americans. Despite the billions that Congress has provided in subsidies, wind energy still produces only 6 percent of our country\u2019s electricity. Wind blows about 35 percent of the time \u2014 and its schedule is not exactly pegged to our demand \u2014 so until there\u2019s some way to efficiently store large amounts of wind power, a utility still needs to operate nuclear, gas, or coal plants when the wind doesn\u2019t blow.\r\n\u201cWind turbines also destroy America\u2019s natural beauty. On average, wind turbines are taller than the Statue of Liberty \u2014 they\u2019re over twice as tall as the skyboxes at University of Tennessee\u2019s Neyland Stadium. The blades on windmills can be as long as a football field, and their blinking lights can be seen for 20 miles.\u201d\r\nAlexander concluded, \u201cFor all these reasons, we should consider ending the wind production tax credit at the end of the year an easy decision.\u201d\r\nEarlier this month, Alexander spoke on the Senate floor about the wind production tax credit being a candidate for elimination in the tax reform bill, urging members of Congress to look at eliminating all tax subsidies for mature energy technologies.\r\nAlexander also wrote in National Review that Congress should eliminate the wind production tax credit at the end of the year \u2013 and not two years from now \u2013 and use the $4 billion in savings to lower tax rates.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=251A2E88-812B-4E2F-992D-615AB0B18D99"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.524287974461913, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}