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Tag(s): Energy; Hall-John; Legislation
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November 29, 2007 at 08:10:23

John Hall - Fighting for a Greener America?

by John Nicholas Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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Rep. John Hall (NY 19th C.D.) announced today that he is signing on as a co-sponsor to H.R. 539, or the "Buildings for the 21st Century Act". The legislation, proposed in January of 2007, would increase existing tax deductions to commercial property owners that make energy efficiency improvements that reduce energy use by 50% or more. The legislation would also increase deductions for improvements to ighting, building envelope, or heating and cooling systems that meet target levels of energy savings.

For Rep. Hall's press release, click here

For the full text of the legislation, click here

I am not the most savvy person when it comes to the workings of Congress, so I have to wonder out loud over a couple of points:

1. Is this really relevant considering that Rep. Hall would be the 144th Congressperson to sign on as a co-sponsor to this bill, and

2. If my skepticism about point 1 is warranted, is this just another grandstanding move (ala Chuck Schumer) to draw the public's attention away from the announcement by Kieran Michael Lalor that he will run against Hall for his House seat next November.

I'm almost willing to give Mr. Hall the benefit of the doubt on this one, especially since I know that he has pushed for energy independence since he has been in office, including advancement in biofuel and wind energy production.

What I believe is more important though, is the federal incentive program for homeowners that wish to convert to solarthermal heating or solar photo-voltaic power systems. The feds will give homeowners a tax credit of 30%, up to $2,000 for the purchase of either type of system. By comparison, a New York State tax credit caps off at $5,000.

I recently took an estimate on a solarthermal heating system for my home. For a $20,000 investment, I could only expect my oil consumption to be cut in half, with a return on investment timeframe of 8 years. That's with the $7,000 combined Fed and State tax credits considered in the calculation.

If Mr. Hall and his peers in Congress really care about global warming and the middle class like they say they do, I would much rather that they work toward better tax incentives to the "regular guy" in addition to the commercial land owners.

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2 comments

Sunny is a writer in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. For more than 20 years, she has concentrated on poetry. Her personal, amateurish, rarely working poetry website is on AOL. http://hometown.aol.com/ssaphd/RhymeandMeter.html Her poems are in some anthologies, including Ravishing Disunities, Dog Music, and Out of the Closet Into Our Hearts. For the past year, she’s been writing song parodies for The Raging Grannies. What she does for a living is to be person number two of a two-person corporation. Person ...

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Sunny ArmerSunny is a writer in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. For more than 20 years, she has concentrated on poetry. Her personal, amateurish, rarely working poetry website is on AOL. http://hometown.aol.com/ssaphd/RhymeandMeter.html Her poems are in some anthologies, including Ravishing Disunities, Dog Music, and Out of the Closet Into Our Hearts. For the past year, she’s been writing song parodies for The Raging Grannies. What she does for a living is to be person number two of a two-person corporation. Person ...

to see more of bio, click on member name

John Hall

You're "almost willing" to give Hall the benefit of the doubt because you "know that he has pushed for energy independence since he has been in office." How about his being an environmental advocate since the 1970s? It was one of his main issues when he ran for Congress, and local Democrats in my district chose him to run largely on that record. If you look at his whole record, you’ll see how he has worked on behalf of "regular guys" for more than thirty years. No one bill can cover everything and everyone, especially with Republicans trying to block every bit of legislation. If we want to advance larger causes, we shouldn’t attack people who agree with us on most issues by narrowing our focus to one issue that applies to the personal situation of some individuals.

by Sunny Armer (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at 10:37:15 AM

I am just a guy who wants to share his opinions with the rest of the web community. I pay special attention to base my opinion on carefully researched and verifiable facts.

I am not, and probably will never be affiliated with any political party. I consider every issue as it stands, regardless of political party endorsement.

If nominated, I will not run, and if elected I will not serve as President of the United States!
John NicholasI am just a guy who wants to share his opinions with the rest of the web community. I pay special attention to base my opinion on carefully researched and verifiable facts.

I am not, and probably will never be affiliated with any political party. I consider every issue as it stands, regardless of political party endorsement.

If nominated, I will not run, and if elected I will not serve as President of the United States!

Re: John Hall

I appreciate your passion for these issues. The "Benefit of the Doubt" would not come from my opinion of Mr. Hall's stance on issues before he ran for Congress (that is not being addressed in this essay), but on whether or not the release of this information was timed to grab press attention from the announcement by Mr. Lalor. We are after all, entering into an election year, and the power of the press release is great.

As for my position on the the change in the tax code proposed in this legislation: what "larger cause" is there for people in our district than personal energy independence, especially in light of efforts of Gov. Spitzer and A.G. Cuomo to deny license renewal for Indian Point? Messrs. Spitzer and Cuomo want to pressure the Federal Government to shut down this plant without offering any ways that we could replace the energy.

My essay at least provides a suggestion as to how that energy could be independently generated by the citizens of our district and. While expanding tax incentives for commercial property owners is fine, how much of the money saved would you realistically expect to be passed on to more than just "some individuals"?

Thank You,

John Nicholas

Hudson Valley Voices

Somma Group

by John Nicholas (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at 9:23:33 PM