WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined her colleague John Cornyn (R-Texas) in introducing a bill yesterday to provide relief to America’s energy industry during the coronavirus pandemic. The SAVE Jobs Act aims to promote liquidity and flexibility for domestic energy companies so that they may maintain their workforce through the pandemic’s economic downturn. 

“Energy production was a driver of economic growth and job creation in West Virginia before the COVID-19 pandemic hit,” Senator Capito said. “This bill will support our energy sector through this tumultuous period so workers can get paid and support their families. I’m particularly pleased to include the extension of the 45Q tax credit, which lays the groundwork for future projects that are good for both the economy and the environment.”

“Throughout this pandemic, the Senate has been working to deliver targeted relief to Americans who need it most, and there’s no doubt many in the energy industry have been hanging by a thread,” said Senator Cornyn. “These reforms will allow Texas’ job creators to weather this downturn, continue paying their workers, and invest in their infrastructure for years to come.”   

The SAVE Jobs ACT:

  • Allows more carbon capture projects to break ground by extending the commence construction window for the 45Q tax credit by one year.
  • Allows energy companies to build liquidity by:
  • Suspending certain capitalization rules, allowing taxpayers to immediately expense certain direct and indirect costs, such as inventory, that would otherwise be required to be capitalized in 2020.
  • Reducing the required deposit of certain motor fuel excise taxes paid every two weeks by taxpayers from 95 percent to 25 percent, without reducing the total tax liability these companies owe the government.
  • Allowing taxpayers to expense 100 percent of the cost of intangible drilling costs in 2020.
  • Provides immediate relief to those with leases on federal lands and waters by:
  • Streamlining existing authority to grant lease extensions, suspensions of production, and suspensions of operations during the pandemic.
  • Simplifying the existing process for royalty rate reductions to provide more timely relief during the pandemic.
  • Delaying the deadline for recalculation of royalty payments under the 2016 ONRR Valuation Rule until July 1, 2022.

 

Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jim Inhofe (R-Ok.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Ok.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) are also original cosponsors.

 

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