Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Ms. Stabenow, and Mrs. Gillibrand):

S. 2829. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the cost of labor for building envelope improvements to be included for purposes of the nonbusiness energy property tax credit; to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the Federal tax code is in great need of an overhaul and today I am introducing legislation to fix one small piece of it. My legislation will help struggling homeowners who are seeing their money literally going out the window as their heating costs go through the roof.

The current tax code gives homeowners a tax credit for installing energy efficiency improvements, which is all well and good, but it only allows labor costs to be included for improvements inside their homes. If the homeowner is installing a new energy efficient furnace, labor costs are included in the expenses eligible for the tax credit. But for improvements like installing energy efficient windows, or doors, or insulation, or energy efficient roofing materials--improvements where labor is a major part of the cost, the tax credit only covers the cost of the materials and not the labor to install them. If this seems counterintuitive and counterproductive, that's because it is. Tilting the tax code to favor some types of home improvements over others is not a sound foundation for tax policy or energy policy.

This legislation, which Senators Stabenow and Gillibrand have joined with me to coponsor, will fix this problem by including labor costs for all eligible energy efficiency improvements whether to the heating system or to the roof Our legislation doesn't change the amount of the overall credit or the kinds of energy efficiency improvements that can be made. It just makes it clear that the credit applies equally to labor costs to install all of the qualifying residential energy efficiency improvements, not just some. This will create a level playing field for homeowners when they are trying to decide which improvements to make especially for more labor intensive projects like installing insulation or new energy efficient roofing. It will also make all of these building energy saving opportunities more affordable. Most importantly, it will help Americans actually save energy and it will create jobs for those workers manufacturing and installing new, energy efficiency products.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD

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