The House of Representatives will try to take up legislation extending renewable energy tax credits before lawmakers head out of town for to campaign for the November election.
The House tax package, which may be voted on as early as Thursday afternoon, is slightly different from legislation passed by the Senate Tuesday, throwing into question whether there is time to reach a final deal.
With Congress expected to adjourn in the next few days for November elections, time is running out for both chambers to clear a bill that can be sent to the White House.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned House lawmakers on Tuesday not to alter the bill the Senate passed.
"If they try to mess with our package, it will come back here, it will die," Reid said.
Charles Rangel, the Democratic Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, urged the Senate to be more flexible.
"We can wrap this up today if they don't insist it's their way or the highway," Rangel said. "They should not miss this opportunity to pass this bill so we can make law and provide this tax relief to families and businesses."
Both the House and Senate bills would extend production tax credits for wind energy and investment tax credits for solar energy projects. The bills also provide tax credits for purchasing plug-in electric vehicles, though at different amounts.
The tax breaks in both bills are funded by limiting tax breaks for oil and gas companies.
Unlike the Senate bill, however, the House bill does not provide tax incentives for refineries to process oil from shale and tar sands or for projects that turn coal into liquid fuel.
Environmental groups oppose the oil shale development in the West because of the vast amount of water that would be used in states that have scarce water resources.
(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe)
