Senator Hatch Urges Regulators To Provide Answers On Green Energy Program

Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch (R-UT) requested information concerning the use and administration of cash grants and energy tax credits from the U.S. Treasury Department ("Treasury"), the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration ("TIGTA") under the Treasury's Section 1603 Program. The Section 1603 program was created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in order to subsidize "green energy." The program allows taxpayers making certain commercial investments in energy properties to elect to receive cash grants in lieu of claiming energy investment tax credits under Internal Revenue Code Section 48(a), which concerns energy credit. Senator Hatch noted that as of May 1, 2016, the Treasury Department has awarded over $25 billion in Section 1603 cash grants. In his information request to the Treasury Inspector General, Senator Hatch made the following statement: