House lawmakers passed a $16 billion energy tax bill that does away with tax breaks for oil and gas companies and shifts the incentives to alternative energy, despite the threat of a veto from President Bush.
The bill extends renewable energy tax credits and attempts to promote greater energy efficiency. The White House, however, complained that the measure would lead to less domestic oil and gas production and higher taxes.
The bill will now go to a conference committee to be reconciled with a bill passed by the Senate in June. The Senate version did not contain the controversial tax measure.
The House bill would raise $11.4 billion over the next decade by withdrawing a manufacturing tax deduction for major oil companies for their domestic production. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the World Trade Organization had ruled the deduction to be illegal.
The bill calls for a "carbon audit" of the Tax Code to identify the provisions that have the greatest impact on carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. The bill also includes a new tax credit for plug-in hybrid vehicles of up to $4,000 per taxpayer.
