EDITORIAL: At Big Green’s beck and call

You wouldn’t think that funding for the Federal Aviation Administration would have anything to do with dubious tax credits for renewable energy. And you’d be right. Anywhere but in Washington, D.C., that is, where politicians love to tie together things that have nothing in common — all at taxpayer expense.

As reported last week by Conservative Review’s Joshua Withrow, Sen. Harry Reid and Sen. Chuck Schumer, among others, have threatened to torpedo FAA funding unless Republicans agree to restore several expired tax credits for renewable energy. Mr. Withrow noted that last year, a handful of such credits for green industries such as biomass, geothermal energy and fuel cells were finally allowed to expire, and that the powerful green lobby has been pushing to get them back ever since.

But often, the only way for Democrats to revive these kinds of carve-outs is by attaching them to much more necessary bills. As Mr. Withrow pointed out, there are not many “must-pass” bills to take hostage this year, but the FAA — which Congress has been funding via short-term bills for years — will see its latest authorization expire on July 15. “Especially since the decline of earmarks, every government funding bill or expiring program creates a ‘cliff’ that savvy corporate welfare junkies leverage to demand a little something extra,” Mr. Withrow wrote. “So Senate Democrats have seized the FAA bill as their opportunity to get those expired tax credits back, to keep their Big Environment cronies happy.”

Taxpayers would foot the $1.4 billion bill to revive the credits, on top of the $23.8 billion in green energy mandates over the next decade that Congress did reauthorize. More important, as we’ve noted many times before, government shouldn’t be in the business of propping up renewable energy — with taxpayers forced to not only subsidize it, but also pay higher rates for power — or any other energy sources, fossil fuels included.

The tax credits attached to the FAA legislation need to remain dead and buried. As noted in a letter to Congress from more than 30 conservative organizations opposed to the tax extenders: “Government subsidies, loans, mandates and tax policies regarding renewables have consistently failed to deliver on their promises of long-term job creation and economic viability.” These industries need to be able to stand on their own in the marketplace, and let consumers decide whether the goods and services merit success or failure.

Sens. Reid and Schumer, and anyone else taking part in this charade, shouldn’t block FAA funding, which more broadly applies to U.S. citizens, in order to re-enact funding for an uncompetitive pet project.