Iowa Biodiesel Board members ask Congress to extend incentive for two years
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Members of the Iowa Biodiesel Board are in Washington, D.C. today to urge Iowa's Congressional delegation to extend the incentive for biodiesel for two years, through 2016. They are also asking for a restructuring of the $1-per-gallon credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel.
Grant Kimberley, executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board, issued the following statement:
"Nowhere is the success of the tax credit more evident than in Iowa. Our state's 13 plants produced more than a quarter of a billion gallons of biodiesel last year, supporting jobs and economic development while replacing foreign oil and diversifying our fuel supply. The federal tax incentive has played a key role in enabling those plants to stay operating and profitable, benefiting all levels of our economy.
"Yet Congress has put our state's biodiesel producers in the unusual position of becoming high-stakes gamblers with their business decisions for the last several years. Congress has allowed the tax incentive to lapse four times in the past six years, including this year. Even though they have reinstated it retroactively each time, this unpredictable approach is no way for an industry to run.
"In addition to extending the current $1 per gallon tax credit for biodiesel for 2015 and through 2016, our industry leaders are asking Congress to restructure the incentive from a blender's credit to a producer's credit. This is critical because the current structure allows foreign biodiesel producers to take advantage of the credit if their fuel is blended in the U.S.
"It's just rational that we use our taxpayer money to stimulate domestic energy growth, like the impressive renewable energy industry Iowa has built, rather than subsidizing foreign producers with our tax dollars. That obviously wasn't the intent of Congress. Once again, we are grateful to Sen. Chuck Grassley for his leadership on this important energy issue."
Sen. Grassley, R-Iowa, has sponsored a bill that would correct the loophole in the existing program. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, this reform would save U.S. taxpayers $90 million.
The farmers and producers have scheduled meetings with the entire Iowa delegation - Sen. Grassley (R), Sen. Joni Ernst (R), Rep. Rod Blum (R), Rep. David Young (R), Rep. Dave Loebsack (D), and Rep. Steve King (R).
Biodiesel - made from a variety of resources including soybean oil, recycled cooking oil and animal fats - is the first EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel to reach commercial-scale production nationwide.
The Iowa Biodiesel Board is a state trade association representing the biodiesel industry.
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