Bid for Tax Breaks on Renewable Energy Blocked

Senate Republicans halted a $32 billion package of tax breaks for renewable energy that would have been financed mostly by new taxes on big oil.

Democrats fell three votes shy of overcoming a threatened Republican filibuster aimed at keeping the measure from being attached to a broader energy bill. GOP senators argued that the nearly $29 billion in additional taxes on major oil companies would cause them to reduce production and lead to higher gasoline prices.

NPR