April 28, 1977
Page 12795
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I will vote to table the amendment offered by the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. HANSEN) for a home insulation tax credit. My vote does not signify opposition to the concept of a home insulation credit. Rather, I believe the insulation credit more appropriately should be considered as part of the forthcoming energy bill, not as part of the economic stimulus and tax simplification legislation now before the Senate.
The President included a $410 maximum insulation credit among his April 20 energy proposals.
The maximum credit he has proposed is almost twice as high as the $225 maximum proposed by Senator HANSEN. The President's proposals are a combination of popular incentives, such as the insulation credit, and some much less popular provisions including higher taxes on energy consumption and production.
I agree with the distinguished chairman of the Finance Committee, Mr. LONG, that attractive incentives such as the insulation credit should be included in the forthcoming energy bill to offset the less politically attractive components of an effective national energy policy, and also to insure that the components of that policy constitute a balanced, consistent program. It may well be that upon careful analysis, a larger credit along the lines proposed by the President may prove more efficient in terms of conservation benefits than the lower credit now proposed by Senator HANSEN.
The first budget resolution reported by the Budget Committee has not taken into account the economic impact of the President's energy proposals. As I explained earlier today, the pending tax bill, as it has been amended by Senate action, would increase the deficit by $3.3 billion over the target reported by the Budget Committee. The Hansen amendment would increase this deficit by yet another $300 million.
The Congress should act on the President's energy proposals as a whole — including the insulation credit. If congressional action comes early enough, the impact of these decisions on the 1978 budget can be reflected in the second budget resolution later this summer; or, if not, then in the congressional budget for 1979.