GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander suggests eliminating energy tax breaks to reduce debt

One day after a majority of Republicans voted to do away with ethanol subsidies, the Senate’s No. 3 Republican said on Wednesday that he is working on legislation that could eliminate a variety of energy tax subsidies and dedicate the proceeds to debt reduction.

The move by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) is the latest sign of a break within the ranks of the GOP, which has for at least two decades strongly opposed raising taxes by any means other than economic growth. Tuesday’s ethanol vote, while unsuccessful, garnered the support of 34 of 47 Senate Republicans.

“Permanent subsidies for mature technologies, to me, are inappropriate, so we’re looking over those carefully, and I expect that before long I’ll have legislation that will look at all energy tax breaks,” Alexander told reporters.

Alexander listed a number of possible areas toward which the savings could be directed, including energy research, deficit reduction and reducing marginal tax rates.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/gop-sen-lamar-alexander-suggests-eliminating-energy-tax-breaks-to-reduce-debt/2011/06/15/AG1VhkWH_story.html

Think of the precedent...