WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday approved a bill to extend more than $17 billion in tax credits and other incentives to encourage the production of energy from solar, wind and other renewable sources, and to promote energy conservation. The bill would be financed by ending tax incentives for oil and natural gas producers.

Doug Mills/The New York Times

Senator Pete V. Domenici has opposed any effort to end incentives for oil and gas.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi pointed to record profits and a need to repeal "subsidies to big oil."

Democratic leaders in the House hailed the legislation as a step toward energy independence and a moral victory for protecting the environment, by encouraging production of clean alternative fuels. But the White House threatened to veto the bill, saying it would be a mistake to increase the tax burden on American oil companies.

Similar legislation has failed to pass the Senate on three occasions over the last year, including an effort in December when the package of tax credits for renewable energy fell just one vote short of the 60 needed to advance it.

Senate Democrats say they still hope to get it approved. But Senator Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, the senior Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has opposed any effort to end the tax incentives for domestic production of oil and gas.

"Why would you tax oil when we are having troubles, when we aren't producing enough; we are importing it all?" Mr. Domenici said this month. "A tax on oil production in the United States? It seems kind of dumb to me."

In a statement after the House vote, Mr. Domenici denounced the bill and said Democrats were hurting the chances of extending the tax credits for alternative energy by tying them to ending the tax incentives for oil and gas.

"These tax credits for wind, solar, biomass and other technologies are set to expire at the end of this year," he said. "It is clear to me that America must pursue all its available resources if we are to meet our energy challenges."

During debate on the House floor, however, Democrats sought to frame the issue around the steep increase in gasoline prices and record profits for oil companies, a theme that they intend to focus on through this election year, along with their criticism of the Iraq war.

"Gasoline at the pump has gone up 75 cents, 75 cents since we first took up this legislation," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a speech supporting the bill. "Imagine what that means to a household income."

"The price at the pump increased 17 cents just in the past two weeks," Ms. Pelosi, of California, continued. "Just yesterday oil prices reached another new record at $101 per barrel. This is at a time when oil companies are making record profits. Last year, ExxonMobil earned $40.6 billion in profits, the largest corporate profit in American history, and yet the administration refused to repeal billions of dollars in subsidies to big oil."
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It might be smarter to impose the burden on imports, But however it is done, steering the nation toward energy independence is critical, mandatory, essential and a primary goal. It is worth a lot. It would completely rewrite the political dynamics that have ruined so many lives in the Middle East, and would hopefully do so for the better.

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