Washington, D.C., May 7, 2008 – The Alliance to Save Energy today commended the House Ways and Means Committee for reporting a package of extensions for renewable and energy efficiency tax incentives, and urged the House leadership to follow through on its commitment, voiced last week by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, that the House will vote on expired renewable-energy and energy efficiency tax incentives before Memorial Day.

“I applaud the Ways & Means Committee for reporting the “extenders” package and agree with the many House members who have said that this needs to be done and done quickly,” said Alliance President Kateri Callahan. “We have seen these tax incentives passed numerous times in the 110th Congress by bipartisan majorities, only to have them end up on the chopping block. Time is running out on extending these tax incentives, and I urge the House leadership to follow through and see that these provisions are brought before the full House before the Memorial Day holiday.”

The incentives, which encourage investment in high-efficiency technologies and put money back in consumers’ pockets by lowering energy bills, either have expired or will expire at the end of 2008, including incentives for highly efficient commercial buildings, home improvements, heating and cooling equipment, and appliances. The intention of these incentives is to help products with new, efficient technologies to overcome steep market barriers and move into the mainstream, enabling them to better flourish after the tax incentives have ended. “I regret that the Ways & Means package does not contain incentives for new homes, and that the incentive for existing residential homes is only extended through December 31, 2008 – hopefully these defects can be corrected as the legislation moves through the House and over to the Senate,” said Callahan.

“With a volatile energy market, extension of these tax incentives could result in lower energy bills and help our flailing economy by encouraging more investment,” Kateri Callahan said, “Americans are hurting as a result of these increasing energy prices, and it is essential that Congress take immediate action to help spur investment in energy efficient technologies to help ease that burden.”

Callahan continued, “Energy-efficiency is an important part of our energy policy right now and will continue to be in the foreseeable future. As a result, I urge the House to swiftly pass these tax incentives, so that consumers and businesses can get the support they need to continue down the path toward a more energy efficient economy.”