I spoke with Nick Sobczyk of E&E News about what a Democratic Ways & Means committee agenda might look like in the 116th Congress, particularly as it relates to energy:

But if ranking member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) becomes chairman, energy and the environment will almost certainly get more airtime on the committee, said Liam Donovan, a principal at Bracewell LLP who works on energy and tax issues.

That could mean extending tax incentives for renewable energy and efficiency that were left out of the tax reform bill, though that issue may also be addressed in the lame-duck session.

Lawmakers retroactively extended those credits through the end of 2017 as a part of a budget accord earlier this year, but the temporary breaks won’t be in effect for this year. Current Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) has opposed an extenders package, but it’s an issue that has bipartisan support (E&E Daily, March 15).

As for carbon pricing and renewable energy issues generally, “it won’t just be a Ways and Means issue,” Donovan said. “It’ll be something that the party is talking about, with the understanding that it’s not going anywhere in a Republican-controlled Senate or a closely divided Senate.”

Read the entire piece here.

I spoke to Stu Basu of Bloomberg Tax on the politics of the SALT cap and how it might impact GOP plans for a second round of tax cuts:

Republicans want to remind voters of their chief legislative accomplishment while extracting a political price for Democratic opposition to a tax revamp that widely benefited voters, said Liam Donovan, a former aide to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

“A floor vote to make the individual and small-business cuts permanent might do that, but it could also revive the sensitive issue of SALT for vulnerable blue state incumbents while prompting deficit concerns from the right and the left,” Donovan, now a principal with Bracewell LLP, said. Brady said previously that making the individual tax cuts permanent would cost about $600 billion.

Read the entire piece here.

I spoke with Gideon Resnick of The Daily Beast about the upcoming primaries and their implications for the GOP in the November midterm elections.

While political pros have mocked the ads, Blankenship’s incendiary approach has earned him more press attention, if much of it negative, than his opponents Rep. Evan Jenkins and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

“Hard to expect the media to avert its eyes from the Blankenship circus, particularly in a click-driven environment, but I think there is a real tail risk,” Republican strategist Liam Donovan observed. “Dominating the conversation for negative reasons is still dominating the conversation, and with just days to go that really matters. It would be naive to think that wasn’t his goal in releasing this ridiculous ad.”

Click here to read the entire piece.