{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-expired-tax-provisions-require-action", "Grassley: Expired Tax Provisions Require Action", "2014-11-20", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "IA", "Charles Grassley", "G000386", "www.grassley.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Floor Statement by Senator Charles E. Grassley  The Need to Act on Tax Extenders  Delivered Thursday, November 20, 2014\nHere we are in another lame duck session of Congress working to finish the business that we've failed to complete during the previous year or two. \nOne of those critical pieces of legislation that must be enacted is a tax extender bill. \nIt seems as though nearly every year in recent memory we've put off the extension of expired tax provisions until the very last minute. \nIn 2012, provisions remained expired for an entire year before finally being extended in January of 2013. \nSimilarly, the previous extension of expired provisions did not occur until the middle of December.\nNow, once again we find ourselves heading into the month of December with tax extenders having been expired for nearly eleven months. \nThis is no way to do business. Such late action by Congress results in complications come filing season for taxpayers. \nTax season is unpleasant enough without us adding to it by failing to do our job in a timely fashion.\nBut, once again, we have created a lot of headaches and uncertainty for individuals and businesses. \nThis uncertainty harms investment and business growth. \nThis is bad for economic growth and bad for jobs. \nThe lapse of renewable energy incentives has also created a lot uncertainty and slowed growth in the renewable industry. \nThis serves only to hamper the strides made toward a viable self-sustainable renewable energy and fuel sector.\nIt didn't have to be this way. \nThe Senate Finance Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Hatch, did its job. \nWe marked up an extenders package in early April.   The Senate never took up that package because the Majority Leader refused to allow Republicans to offer amendments. \nRather than consider and advance the Finance Committee bill, the Majority Leader shelved the extenders bill because of fear that members of his party might have to take tough votes before the election.\nWith the elections behind us, it's now time to get to work and get the extenders bill done. \nI understand that negotiations are ongoing between the House and Senate on this issue. \nI'm encouraged by the reports that progress is being made.\nHowever, I am concerned about rumors that some are working to leave out or shorten the extension for the wind production tax credit. \nIt seems as though opponents of wind energy have tried at every turn to undermine this industry, and so I'm not surprised that they're at it again. \nI agree that the tax code has gotten too cluttered with too many special interest provisions. \nThat's the reason many of us have been clamoring for tax reform for years now. \nBut, just because we haven't cleaned up the tax code in a comprehensive way doesn't mean that we should pull the rug out from under domestic renewable energy producers. \nDoing so would cost jobs, harm our economy, the environment and our national security.\nI'm glad to defend the wind production tax credit and wind energy. \nWind energy supports tens of thousands of American jobs, it has spurred billions in private investment in the United States, and it displaces more expensive and more polluting sources of energy.\nMore than 70% of a U.S. wind turbines value is now produced in the U.S., compared to just 25% prior to 2005. \nOnce again, opponents of the renewable energy provisions want to have this debate in a vacuum. \nThey disregard the many incentives and subsidies that exist for other sources of energy, and are permanent law.\nFor example, the 100 year-old oil and gas industry continues to benefit from tax preferences that benefit only their industry. \nThese are not general business tax provisions  they are specific to the oil and gas business. Here are a few examples:\n Expensing for intangible drilling costs   Deduction for tertiary injectants   Percentage depletion for oil wells   Special amortization for geological costs\nThese four tax preferences for this single industry result in the loss of more than $4 billion annually in tax revenue. \nNuclear energy is another great example. \nThe first nuclear power plant came online in the United States in 1958  56 years ago. Nuclear receives special tax treatment for interest from decommissioning trust funds. \nCongress created a production tax credit for this mature industry in 2005, which is available until 2020. \nNuclear also benefits from Price-Anderson, federal liability insurance, that Congress provided as a temporary measure in 1958. This temporary measure has been renewed through 2025. \nNuclear energy has also received $74 billion in federal research and development dollars since 1950. \nAre these crony capitalist handouts? Is it time to end market distortions for nuclear power?\nA Cato study found that In truth, nuclear power has never made economic sense and exists purely as a creature of government. \nI don't understand the argument that repealing a subsidy for oil or gas or nuclear energy production is a tax increase on energy producers and consumers, while repealing an incentive for alternative or renewable energy is not.\nIt's not intellectually honest.\nI authored the wind incentive in 1992. I know it won't go on forever. It was never meant to, and it shouldn't. \nI'm happy to discuss a responsible, multi-year phase out of the wind tax credit. \nIn 2012, the wind industry was the only industry to put forward a phase out plan. \nBut, any phase out must be done in the context of comprehensive tax reform, where all energy tax provisions are on the table.   And, it should be done responsibly over a few years, to provide certainty and ensure a viable industry.\nIt's time to put an end to the annual kabuki dance that is tax extenders.\nGood tax policy requires certainty that can only come from long-term predictable tax laws.\nBusinesses need certainty in the tax code so they can plan and invest accordingly.\nMoreover, taxpayers deserve to know that the tax code is not just being used as another way to dole out funds to politically favored groups.\nHowever, the only sound way to reach this goal is through comprehensive tax reform.\nI agree that there are provisions in extenders that ultimately should be left on the cutting room floor. \nBut, it is in tax reform where we should consider the relative merits of individual provisions. \nTargeting certain provisions for elimination now makes little sense for those of us who want to reduce tax rates as much as possible. \nTax reform provides an opportunity to use a realistic baseline that will allow the revenue generated from cutting back provisions to be used to pay for reductions in individual and corporate tax rates.\nI look forward to working with my colleagues in the future to enact tax reform and put an end to the headaches and uncertainty created by the regular expiration of tax provisions. \nRight now our focus must be on extending current expired or expiring provisions to give us room to work toward that goal. \nIt is my hope that we can move quickly to reach a bipartisan, bicameral agreement that can quickly be enacted.\nTaxpayers have already waited long enough.  \n\n-30-", 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.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-expired-tax-provisions-require-action"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0766289196908474, "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"}