A stalemate in Congress over renewable tax energy credits and business incentives gives lawmakers time to improve the bill with a long-term fix to the alternative minimum tax and, more important, find ways to pay for the legislation.

Known as the tax extenders legislation, the $55 billion bill would extend tax breaks for renewable energy development and other research while continuing deductions for state and local sales taxes, teacher expenses and charitable contributions. A version considered by the Senate Tuesday also included revisions to the alternative minimum tax (AMT) to keep it from ensnaring a growing number of middle-class taxpayers.

The measure failed to gain enough votes in the Senate to move forward. Sen. Susan Collins voted for the measure, although she opposed an earlier package because it did not include an AMT fix. Sen. Olympia Snowe also voted for the measure. Reps. Tom Allen and Michael Michaud voted for the House bill, which did not contain the AMT fix.

Extending the tax breaks is needed to spur development of wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable sources of energy. The legislation contains $17 billion for this and the promotion of energy conservation in commercial buildings. Companies such as General Electric, Whirlpool and Caterpillar have been pushing for passage of the bill.

Fixing the AMT, which if left as is would raise taxes for 85,000 Maine families, is also necessary. The alternative minimum tax was originally set up as a parallel tax meant to ensure that wealthy Americans paid their share of income taxes. Since it has not been adjusted for inflation, the AMT now threatens to capture 25 million Americans, many of them middle class.

Congress last year temporarily increased the income level at which the AMT kicks in, but a permanent solution is needed. It would be costly, however. The temporary fix in the Senate bill is estimated to cost more than $60 billion.

The measure that failed in the Senate proposed to delay for 10 years a tax break for multinational companies and to prevent hedge fund managers from deferring overseas income. The two measures are slated to raise $54 billion, which covered the cost of the energy and other tax break extensions, but not the AMT fix.

Because tax credits reduce federal revenue, they should fall under Congress’ pay-as-you-go rules. Under pay-go rules new expenditures must be offset by new revenue. The same should be true for revenue reductions, although Republicans and the White House have long fought this stance. Extending all tax cuts that are set to soon expire and exempting them from pay-go rules would add $4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The tax extenders package, with an AMT fix, has the potential to benefit millions of Americans through new energy sources and continued tax deductions, but only if it is paid for.