ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures

McCrery Announces First in a Series of Hearings on
the Effect of Federal Tax Laws on the Production, Supply, and Conservation of Energy

Congressman Jim McCrery (R-LA), Chairman, Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold the first in a series of hearings on the effect of current Federal tax laws on the production, supply, and conservation of energy. The hearing will take place on Thursday, May 3, 2001, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Invited witnesses include representatives of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Energy, energy producers, and consumers. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

The Internal Revenue Code provides several incentives for the domestic production of oil and gas including: (1) expensing of certain exploration and development costs, (2) depletion rules, and (3) a tax credit for enhanced oil recovery costs. The tax code provides incentives for the production of electricity from certain renewable resources, including wind and closed-loop biomass facilities. The tax code also encourages energy conservation by allowing taxpayers to exclude from income the value of certain energy conservation measures provided by a utility company to consumers.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman McCrery stated: "With Summer approaching and gasoline prices on the rise, Americans are becoming increasingly concerned about the energy problems we face. My Subcommittee's review will help explore ways that the tax code can promote sound energy policy which may alleviate these problems."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will focus on current tax incentives in the Internal Revenue Code for the production and conservation of energy, including expiring and time-limited energy-related tax provisions, such as the suspension of the 100 percent net income limitation for marginal properties, the credit for producing fuel from nonconventional sources, and the credit for electricity produced from certain renewable resources.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, May 17, 2001, to Allison Giles, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures office, room 1135 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.

The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at "http://waysandmeans.house.gov".

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.