Pelosi: Tax Extenders Act Creates New Jobs, Growth, Innovation, and Opportunity for Every American

/PRNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after the House passed the Tax Extenders Act of 2009, which will help to create jobs and cut taxes for American middle-class families. The House passed the bill by a vote of 241 to 181.

"Today, Congress took another positive step forward in our drive to create more jobs, strengthen our economy, and lay the foundation for long-term prosperity. By passing the Tax Extenders Act, we are placing our working families at the center of our economic recovery.

"This legislation is good for businesses, good for homeowners, and good for our communities. The bill extends research and development tax credits for American companies, encouraging them to invest in innovation and clean energy, and create the high-tech jobs of the 21st century. It provides property tax relief to 30 million families, ensures our men and women called to serve overseas do not face a pay cut here at home, and offers some security for millions of parents, teachers, and consumers by extending deductions for college tuition, classroom expenses, and state and local sales taxes.

"Maintaining our commitment to fiscal discipline, this legislation will not add to the deficit. The costs of this proposal are fully paid for because we put an end to the preferential tax treatment for hedge fund managers and investment bankers and cracked down on offshore tax havens.

"This bill is a down payment on new jobs, growth, innovation, and opportunity for every American."

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Prepare Now for Bad Weather

A rash of tornadoes and severe weather made a trek across Georgia Feb. 18, putting residents on high alert. Schools and offices normally have plans in place for weather emergencies. Families should also have prepared emergency weather plans, says a University of Georgia meteorologist.

“Families should practice their emergency plan well before the impending threat of a tornado or other weather emergency,” said Pam Knox, Georgia’s assistant state climatologist and a researcher with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Emergency plan of action

To develop a home emergency plan, Knox offers some guidance.

During a tornado or severe thunderstorm warning, the basement is the safest place to go if you live in a traditional frame home, Knox said. If you don’t have a basement, seek shelter in an interior room on the lowest level of the home. The room shouldn’t have windows and should be the smallest interior room.

“Typically, this will be either a bathroom or a closet,” Knox said. “A bathroom is best because the plumbing will provide extra structural integrity should the tornado hit.”

If time allows, Knox recommends bringing a mattress and pillows into the room to use as protection from flying debris.

Alternative shelter

If you live in a mobile home or trailer, seek alternative shelter, she said. “Some mobile home parks have storm shelters available for severe weather conditions,” she said. “If not, have an alternate plan in place before severe weather occurs.”

Seeking shelter outdoors should be a last resort.

“People should not be out in the open during a tornado,” she said. “If a tornado can blow a board into a tree, just imagine what it can do to a human.”

If you are in your car, resist the urge to drive away. You are much safer in one spot than you are on the road. If you have time, get out of the car and into a reinforced structure.

“And don’t try to seek shelter under an overpass like the people you see in videotapes,” Knox said. “The wind can be stronger under these structures due to the wind tunnel effect. And if the bridge falls, your risk of injury is significantly higher.”

Otherwise, the National Weather Service recommends that you get out of the car and into the lowest possible site. The strong winds can pick up your car and fling it long distances.

If your safe haven is a ravine or ditch, however, Knox warns to be aware of possible flooding.

“Buy a battery operated weather radio and keep it with you,” she said. “Most tornadoes only last about 15 minutes, but it will seem much longer if you aren’t aware of what to expect.”

By Sharon Dowdy
University of Georgia

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DOE Announces Additional Steps in Developing Sustainable Biofuels Industry

Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman and Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer today (October 7, 2008) released the National Biofuels Action Plan (NBAP). The Plan, developed by an interagency board co-chaired by DOE and USDA, outlines specific action areas and goals toward achieving renewable fuels production targets. Secretary Bodman also announced additional steps the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is taking to support the development of a sustainable biofuels industry: research to enable increased use of biofuels, deployment of cellulosic biorefineries, and biofuels research and development.

“The challenge is to find ways to go farther and to go faster – we must progress to the next level,” said Secretary Bodman. “That means we must accelerate the development and deployment of next generation biofuels, fuels made from cellulose, algae and from other non-food products as well as fuels compatible with our existing energy infrastructure including renewable diesel, green gasoline and bio-butanol.”

Increasing the Use of Biofuels
U.S. consumers already use E10, gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol, in conventional vehicles and other engines. In order to meet the goals set forth in the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, however, the U.S. will likely need to use higher blends of ethanol in conventional vehicles. To assess the potential impacts of higher blends of ethanol such as E15 and E20, gasoline blended with 15 and 20 percent ethanol, on conventional vehicles and other gasoline engines, DOE initiated a testing program in August 2007.

A preliminary report released today by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, provides results available to date from testing E15 and E20 on 13 vehicles and 28 small non-road engines, including lawn equipment and generators. The information reported today, along with data that will be collected over the course of this broad test program, will help determine whether higher blends of ethanol can be effectively used in conventional vehicles. The report showed that most of the regulated emissions with E15 and E20 were within the normal test variation, and no statistically-significant change was detected. While the data collected to date is encouraging, particularly with regard to regulated emissions, additional studies are needed on a wider range of vehicles and engines

Supporting Deployment of New Technologies
The deployment of cellulosic biorefineries is a critical pathway to meeting renewable fuels production mandates. Today, DOE announced additional funding with POET, LLC of Sioux Falls, S.D. This commercial-scale cellulosic biorefinery project was originally announced by Secretary Bodman in February 2007; today an additional phase of funding was announced. POET received $3.7 million in the first phase of funding under a cooperative agreement that covers initial design, permitting, and preparation of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation. Today in the second phase the Secretary announced POET would be awarded an additional award for up to $76.3 million in federal funding, subject to annual appropriations. Today’s funding supports final design, construction, and commissioning of the project to develop an economically viable cellulose-to-ethanol biorefinery that employs alternative energy technologies will be co-located at POET’s Emmetsburg, Iowa ethanol plant and will use corn cob, and potentially corn fiber, to increase plant production of ethanol by up to 25 million gallons per year. Subject to annual appropriations, DOE’s total investment in the POET project is up to $80 million, with an expected total project cost of nearly $200 million.

Pyrolysis Oils Projects
While supporting deployment and increased biofuels usage, DOE continues to focus on research and development of advanced biofuels technologies. Today, DOE announced the selection of five advanced biofuels projects up to $7 million, subject to annual appropriations. The five projects selected will develop cost-effective, environmentally friendly ways to convert non-food feedstocks into stabilized pyrolysis oils. These biologically-derived oils are generated through the rapid heating of biomass, for the ultimate production of transport fuel. Pyrolysis oils offer the potential of a greenhouse-gas neutral, renewable, and domestically produced alternative to petroleum-based fuels.

Five advanced biofuels projects received negotiation of awards:

UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.) With partners: Ensyn Corp, DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colo.), DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, Wash.) and USDA-Agricultural Research Service.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Blacksburg, Va. and New Brunswick, N.J.) With partner: Rutgers University.
Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa and Houston, Texas) With partner: ConocoPhillips.
RTI International (Research Triangle Park, N.C. and Decatur, Ill.)With partner: Archer Daniel Midland Co.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Amherst, Mass.) With partner: Renewable Oil International.

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