Ensign aligns with Dems on tax credit plan (UPDATED)

By Lisa Mascaro

Thursday, April 3, 2008 | 4:31 p.m.

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Ensign may be engineering a political victory for himself, and Nevada, by joining Democrats to introduce legislation extending popular tax credits for renewable energy.

Imagine the odd scene here today at the press conference:

Ensign, who chairs the committee trying to elect Republicans to the Senate, standing beside his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, to promote the plan.

What makes this bill potentially more popular than the previous ones that have been shot down by Republicans this Congress is that it won’t be paid for with new taxes on the big five oil and gas companies.

But that also may prove its downfall. The $6 billion bill won’t be paid for, period.

Democrats have instituted pay-as-you-go rules to avoid running up the federal deficit with new programs. But supporters of the energy bill — who number 20 so far in the Senate — hope to skirt the rules that require spending be off-set with revenue by framing the bill as an economic stimulus package. They have a precedent: The rules were lifted earlier this year when Congress passed the $150 billion stimulus package that is sending $600 rebate checks to most Americans.

Solar, wind and geothermal power companies have mounted an aggressive lobbying campaign saying their $20 billion industry powers 120,000 jobs that could be lost without the tax credits.

As I wrote earlier when the bill lost by just one vote in the Senate, solar industry lobbyists targeted Ensign as a lawmaker they’d like to flip.

Getting such a bill passed would be a win for Ensign, who along with his fellow Nevada Republicans in the House, has taken heat from green-energy supporters for not supporting recent bills to extend the tax credits. Ensign is also in environmentalists’ sights in Nevada because he supports proposed new coal plants.

Sen. Harry Reid's spokesman issued this comment on the majority leader's position on the bill: "Ideally, he'd prefer to pass renewable tax incentives that are paid for, but this issue is so important to Nevada he will support any bill that will develop the renewable energy industry, create jobs and position Nevada as the world leader on renewable energy."

Ensign says he presented the bill earlier this week to Republican leadership, and they were on board. Schumer says Democratic leadership wants to vote before Memorial Day.

Could it be?