Dear EPAct 179D Supporter,

With your overwhelming support we were able to get Senate Finance to include EPAct 179D in their extension legislation.  It was touch and go in the beginning with the first draft NOT including 179D.  Your efforts helped turn the tide, eventually getting it added to the EXPIRE bill.  

The House Ways and Means Committee is starting hearings tomorrow on the 55 expiring tax provisions(EPACT 179D being 1 out of 55).  The Chairman has indicated that many of these extenders will not be included in his extension legislation.  

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has requested that we reach out to you and request that you contact members of the House Ways and Means Committee to advocate for EPAct 179D to be one of the items extended.

Therefore we are asking you to do the following items:

1. Read our suggested letter to the House Ways and Means Committee (see below or on our website);
2. Forward this email to other interested parties;
3. Edit the letter by adding specifics about your company, how many employees you have, and how EPAct 179D has helped you become more energy efficient and/or maintain/add new jobs. Please make special reference to any projects you feel EPAct was pivotal in cost-justifying;
4. Email a copy of the letter in Microsoft Word to waysandmeans.submissions@mail.house.gov .  Following item 3 above is a very important step for these submissions.
5. If by chance one of the members is your Representative or a Representative of of any of your employees, copy and paste your letter into that Representative's submission page. If possible it is best to use a local address for these submissions. Following item 3 above is a very important step for these submissions. Alternatively, please fax the letter;
6. If you perform work in a location represented by any members of the Committee, please call them and express the importance of 179D to your business. You can also request to speak with the Legislative Assistant for Tax to discuss the importance further.
7. Lastly, if you are a Twitter user please tweet @WaysandMeansGOP as well as any of the Representatives below. Please include #ExtendEPAct179D in your tweet.  Here is a sample tweet:  Support #EnergyEfficiency incentives. Contact @RepDaveCamp @repsandylevin @WaysandMeansGOP to #ExtendEPAct179D. RT to show support!

Thank you for helping us save EPAct 179D,

Charles Goulding

Letter

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Your Name

Company

Address

Phone Number

Contact E-Mail Address

Title of Hearing:  Tax Reform Hearing on the Benefits of Permanent Tax Policy for America's Job Creators

Subject: RE: Section 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction Should Be Included as Part of a Tax Extender Package

Dear House Ways and Means Committee, and/or Dear Representative XXXXXX,

We are writing to you today to urge the inclusion of Section 179D, Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction as part of a Tax Extender Package.

Our Company, XXXXXXX, (Write a paragraph about your company, number of Employees in the state and the importance of 179D to you. Please make special reference to any projects you feel EPAct was pivotal in cost-justifying.)

As you know, 179D directly supports two national priorities: Job Creation and Energy Independence. 179D was introduced into the tax code with the Energy Policy Act of 2005. It was further extended in 2008, with current expiration set for January 1, 2014. Since the inception of 179D, it has assisted thousands of building owners in retaining jobs and increasing profitability; it has also increased job creation in the trades, where energy efficiency retrofits create large numbers of high paying jobs for a labor pool that was particularly impacted by the economic downturn. At the same time, 179D helps reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, thereby increasing America’s energy security.

Jobs

Energy efficiency projects require enormous skilled and semi-skilled work forces. By cost-justifying projects, EPAct therefore plays a direct role in supporting a major source of employment in our state.

Lighting retrofits require lighting designers, laborers to remove and dispose existing fixtures, distribution centers to store the new lighting material, laborers to stage the new material near the job site and electricians to install the new fixtures.

HVAC retrofits require engineers for project system design, substantial U.S. manufacturing activity (most HVAC equipment is heavy and made in the U.S.), U.S. steel procurement and HVAC mechanics to install.

The building envelope involves a wide variety of manufactured and workshop materials including roofs, walls, windows, doors, foundations and insulation. In addition to the labor required to create these products, large numbers of roofers, carpenters, installers and laborers are needed to handle the material and incorporate it into a building.

In addition, reduced building expenses allow for the retention of jobs on the building owners’ end.

Energy Security

Our nation’s goal of becoming energy independent cannot be achieved through domestic oil and natural gas production alone. Energy Efficiency is an untapped natural resource. Commercial Buildings represent 20% of our nation’s energy use. “Drilling” for building energy efficiency is the least costly natural resource we have. For building owners, the upfront cost of retrofitting is expensive, but with utility and government assistance working together with building owners, energy use reductions between 20% and 50% can be obtained.

Commercial building energy efficiency is a critical way by which utilities can meet newly established national guidelines for carbon emission reductions. By improving the cost benefit equation of an energy efficiency retrofit, Section 179D thereby plays an important role in helping utilities comply with national policy while simultaneously reducing the need for the construction of costly new power plants.

Looking Ahead

Today, taxpayers and industry understand how to prospectively use 179D to achieve the greatest possible energy reduction far better than they did eight years ago. This extension will empower our country to realize major energy efficiency gains and will not represent a material cost to Treasury. With the use of dynamic scoring the efficiency gains will increase taxable income over time for commercial building owners, and thereby reducing Treasury's losses from accelerating the depreciation.

Conclusion

Section 179D supports a key investment in the American economy: energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is a force-multiplying investment that saves energy, saves money, and sustains and creates American jobs. Comprehensive energy efficiency upgrades drastically improve the reliability and performance of the nation’s building stock, while reducing demand on our energy supply. We strongly support its inclusion as the House Ways and Means Committee contemplates Tax Extenders.

Sincerely,

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