Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

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By Mr. SMITH (for himself, Mrs. LINCOLN, and Mr. GRASSLEY):

S. 1022. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for an energy efficient appliance credit; to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, water and energy are precious resources that we must manage as efficiently as possible. That is why I am joining with my colleagues Senator LINCOLN and Finance Chairman GRASSLEY to introduce the ``Resource Efficient Appliance Incentives Act of 2005.'' This bill would provide for manufacturers' tax credits of varying levels for certain energy and water efficient home appliances.

Under this bill, for the first time, water efficiency is included in the eligibility criteria for the tax credits for clothes washers. This bill provides graduated credits to appliance manufacturers. The more efficient the dishwasher, clothes washer or refrigerator, the higher the credit.

To spur increased production, the bill provides that these tax credits would apply only to production that exceeds historical production levels, and requires a three-year rolling average to calculated this production baseline. The bill only applies to appliances manufactured in the United States. This will encourage innovation and investment in domestic manufacturing facilities, which employ about 95,000 Americans.

Energy savings from this bill would be significant. Super-energy efficient and water conserving clothes washers would have to use at least 65 percent less energy than the 2004 federal standard to qualify for the higher credit. Refrigerators must exceed the 2001 energy conservation standards for comparably sized models by at least 15 percent to receive a credit under this bill.

This bill will not only save energy, and reduce the consumers' energy bills over the life of the appliance. It is estimated that, over twenty years, the credit would reduce the amount of water used to wash clothes by approximately a trillion gallons, the amount used in two years by a city the size of Phoenix, Arizona.

In several parts of the country, development is constrained by the lack of good quality water and water infrastructure. Having dealt with the water crisis in the Klamath Basin in 2001, when 1,200 farmers and ranchers had their irrigation water cut off, I can tell you firsthand that the conflicts between competing human and environmental needs are real and are growing.

As Benjamin Franklin observed, ``When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.'' In many parts of the arid west, the well is running dry on a regular basis. The 10-year drought in the Colorado River Basin, which has seen relief this year, had produced the lowest flows on record last year, straining an important resource for millions of people. The Columbia River Basin has also experienced below average flows in recent years.

The daily per capita water use around the world varies significantly. The U.N. Population Fund cites that, in the United States, we use an estimated 152 gallons per day per person, while in the United Kingdom they use 88 gallons. Africans use 12 gallons a day.

According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, 47 percent of all water supplied to communities in the United States by public and private utilities is for residential water use. Of that, clothes washers account for approximately 22 percent of residential use, while dishwashers account for about 3 percent.

I firmly believe that we can use technology to improve our environmental stewardship. Water efficiency can extend our finite water supplies, and also reduce the amount of wastewater that communities must treat.

I would urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this important bill to provide incentives for water and energy efficient residential appliances. I ask unanimous consent that the text of legislation be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

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