The rescue legislation currently dominating Capitol Hill has been ’sweetened’ with provisions to encourage additional support.  ASTRA – the Alliance for Science and Technology Research in America, has circulated an email (reprinted online at Technology Liberation Front – a libertarian technology blog) encouraging people to contact members of Congress who opposed the original bill.  I’m on one of ASTRA’s distribution lists, and the email is reprinted accurately.

I’m not upset with the email (I don’t share the TLF poster’s political perspective), or with its contents.  I’m curious about what’s missing.  From the email:

The Senate measure includes the important tax incentives which either expired earlier this year or will by December 31.  The House will now vote on these provisions as well.  They include extension of the Research & Experimentation (R&E) Tax Credit and the soon to expire Alternative Energy tax incentives which make it more economically feasible to deploy alternative energy sources including solar, wind and geothermal power.

All fine and good, but given the recent shafting of science and engineering funding in the continuing resolution, I would think ASTRA would have at least made an effort to pad the bill with some funding for its interests.  And if they did, why not mention it?