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New Ad by Chamber of Commerce Highlights Wilson’s Horrible Voting Record

WASHINGTON – If you need more proof of just how out of step Heather Wilson is for New Mexico, look no further than the latest television ad by the Chamber of Commerce. The ad, supposedly in favor of Wilson, actually highlights her votes against clean energy legislation that would have created an estimated 19,000 jobs in the state.   

“Heather Wilson’s voting record is so bad, even the Chamber of Commerce is struggling to defend it,” said Navin Nayak, LCV Senior Vice President for Campaigns.

The Chamber of Commerce cites Wilson’s votes against HR 2776 and HR 6899 as evidence that “Heather Wilson fights to make sure New Mexico will have the energy it needs.” In reality, Wilson’s votes on those bills would have cost New Mexico’s energy sector thousands of jobs. 

Both the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act (HR 2776) and the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act (HR 6899) would have extended tax credits for the renewable energy industry, including an 8 year extension of the solar investment tax credit.  The clean energy provisions in both bills were paid for by ending taxpayer handouts to Big Oil. 

An independent study conducted by Navigant Consulting and released when HR 6899 was being considered found that the solar investment tax credit extension would create 19,000 jobs in New Mexico by 2016. In fact, the study found that ending the solar investment tax credit, which Wilson voted twice to do, would have cost New Mexico more jobs than any state other than California and Florida. 

With Wilson’s help, neither bill became law. The solar investment tax credit was eventually extended for 8 years as part of the much broader Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which Wilson supported.

Here are the facts:

• House Roll Call Vote 835 (2007): Wilson voted against HR 2776, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act.  Among the clean energy provisions in HR 2776 was a 4-year extension of the production tax credit for wind and other renewable energy, and an 8-year extension of the solar investment tax credit.  The cost of these provisions would have been offset in the bill by eliminating several special tax breaks for oil and gas companies. 
• House Roll Call Vote 599 (2008): Wilson voted against HR 6899, the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act.  As LCV’s 2008 Environmental Scorecard noted, “H.R. 6899 would extend tax credits to the renewable energy industry, institute energy efficiency standards for buildings, and repeal billions of dollars in tax subsidies to oil companies.”  One of the renewable energy provisions in the bill was an 8-year extension of the solar investment tax credit.  The bill also would have created a renewable electricity standard and eased a ban on offshore oil drilling, as the New York Times reported at the time.

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Paid for by the League of Conservation Voters, www.lcv.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.