WASHINGTON - Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) are urging the Senate to act on legislation they introduced today to strengthen America's energy independence and create jobs through the production of domestically produced biofuels.

The bipartisan bill would extend, through 2015, the volumetric ethanol excise tax credit, or VEETC, which is also known as the blenders' credit; the small ethanol producers tax credit; the cellulosic producers tax credit; and the ethanol import tariff.

The senators said that extension of these policies is the right thing to do because biofuels offer an alternative to foreign oil and generate economic activity in the United States.  Today, ethanol comprises nearly 10 percent of the U.S. fuel supply.  Ethanol produced in the Midwest replaces oil from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria.  Ethanol is good for rural economies, and a recent study found that the failure to extend the VEETC credit and the secondary tariff would result in the loss of 112,000 jobs nationwide and reduce ethanol production by nearly 40 percent.  Iowa would lose the most jobs at nearly 30,000.

Grassley said the lapse of the separate tax credit for biodiesel, which expired at the end of 2009, has cost 29,000 clean-energy jobs and put 23,000 more at risk.  "We can't risk a repeat performance with ethanol, where 112,000 jobs are at stake."  Of the ethanol tariff, Grassley said, "the United States already provides generous duty-free access to imported ethanol under the Caribbean Basin Initiative, but the CBI cap has never once been fulfilled.  In fact, last year, only 25 percent of it was even used by Brazil and other countries."

Conrad said, "Our country is in serious danger because of skyrocketing energy costs.  This growing crisis demands urgent action. We must be committed to coming together in a bipartisan way to lessen our dependence on foreign oil, while aggressively pursuing alternative sources of energy such as biofuels. Extending these tax credits is a step in the right direction."

Grassley and Conrad are longtime advocates for tax incentives for biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.  Grassley is Ranking Member of the tax-writing Finance Committee.  Conrad is a senior member of the Finance Committee and Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.  Grassley is a senior member of the Budget Committee.

The bill they introduced today - the Grow Renewable Energy from Ethanol Naturally Jobs Act of 2010, or the GREEN Jobs Act of 2010 -- is cosponsored by Senators John Thune (R-SD), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mike Johanns (R-NE) and Tim Johnson (D-SD).

Companion legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL).

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Opening Statement of Sen. Chuck Grassley

Hearing, "The President's Proposed Fee on Financial Institutions Regarding TARP"

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Mr. Barofsky, I want to welcome you here today.  You and I are both big believers in oversight, accountability and transparency. Today we're discussing what the President calls a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee.  However, the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy told the dozens of people in attendance at a briefing for Senate staff on the President's fiscal year 2011 budget earlier this year that the President's proposed fee is actually an excise tax.

This is similar to the name game that the Administration and Congressional Majority played with the excise taxes in their health care bill.  Although they referred to the excise taxes as fees, the legislative text clearly states that they are actually excise taxes.  I will refer to it as the TARP tax, and not the bank tax as some call it, because the proposal applies not only to banks, but also to insurance companies, securities brokers, and thrifts, among others.

The statute that created TARP required the President to submit a plan by 2013 to recover any losses under TARP so that the taxpayers are fully repaid for any TARP losses.  However, three years before it was required, the President proposed this excise tax?the TARP tax.  One problem that surfaced recently is that Congressional Democrats are already reportedly planning ways to spend the money raised by the proposed TARP tax.

One proposal gaining steam among many on the other side lately is to add the TARP tax to the financial regulatory reform bill.  The Congressional Majority is so strapped for money to pay for out of control spending that members are looking to the banks and other financial institutions for money.  This reminds me of the story about a reporter asking Willie Sutton, a notorious bank robber, why he robbed banks.  Sutton allegedly said, "because that's where the money is."  I cannot emphasize this next point enough, if Congress decides to pass a TARP tax, that money should only go toward paying down the deficit.  Otherwise, the TARP tax wouldn't even pay for losses from TARP, it would just enable more taxing and spending by those who want to spend more.

All economists state that corporate entities don't actually bear the burden of taxes -- people do.  I wanted to know which people would bear the burden of the proposed TARP tax.  So I wrote a letter asking the nonpartisan experts at the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation a series of questions.

The CBO responded to my letter by saying that customers would probably pay higher borrowing rates and other charges, employees might bear some of the cost, and investors could bear some of the cost.  The CBO also said that the TARP tax "would also probably slightly decrease the availability of credit for small businesses." In addition, the CBO said that, "for the most part, the firms paying the fee would not be those that are directly responsible for loss realized by the TARP."

One other item from the CBO letter worth noting is that the TARP tax would not apply to firms in the automotive industry.  That is really odd, since CBO's March 2010 TARP report states that the automotive industry accounts for $34 billion of the program's estimated total cost of $109 billion.  Chairman Baucus and I invited GM to testify before our Committee at one of the later hearings, but GM representatives said they didn't want to testify.  I believe GM's silence is deafening.

On another TAR-related matter, I want to thank you for investigating the multi-million dollar severance payments that Treasury is allowing TARP recipients like AIG to pay their departing executives.  As you know, I have communicated on several occasions with Treasury and the TARP Special Master for Executive Compensation about this troubling issue, and I have run into a stone wall.  I am also pleased that you are going to investigate the possible conflicts of interest on the part of key people at Treasury who worked on the TARP executive compensation regulations.

Since those regulations helped executives walk away with huge severance payments, we need to find out if they were drafted by people who used to represent the very executives affected by the regulations.  Treasury claims that all the proper recusals were made, but it has provided none of the documentation necessary to verify that claim.  I trust that you will be able to get to the bottom of these important questions and report back to the Committee in the near future.

(DAVENPORT, IA) - Davenport area athletes will have a unique chance to enhance their competitive swimming skills by working with two swimming champions, Josh Davis and Mark Gangloff. The Scott County Family YMCA Swim Club is pleased to announce that that they will host a Mutual of Omaha Breakout! Swim Clinic on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at the North Family YMCA pool located at 624 W. 53rd Street in Davenport.

The Mutual of Omaha Breakout! Swim Clinic is a unique experience developed by Olympic gold medalist Josh Davis and Mutual of Omaha to inspire and motivate a new generation of swim stars. As an official sponsor of USA Swimming, Mutual of Omaha actively supports the sport on all levels, from local clubs across the country to the National Team. Davis, who earned three gold medals in the 1996 Olympics and two silver medals in the 2000 Olympic Games, is a master clinician and motivational speaker.

The event is a four hour in-water stroke technique clinic from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM for ages, 8 to 18 year olds. The cost is $60 per swimmer. The swimmers will hear inspiring messages from Olympians Josh Davis and Mark Gangloff. Immediately following, they will hit the water with Davis and Gangloff for in-water demonstration and instruction on swim strokes and techniques. Some participants may even have a chance to test their strokes in a race against the Olympic champions. Concluding the event, the swimming champions will be available for autographs and photos.

Registration for the Mutual of Omaha Breakout! Swim Clinic is currently open. To register, contact Angie Gillespie by phone at 563-391-7771 or E-Mail agillespie@scottcountyfamilyy.org.

About Josh Davis

In 1996, Josh Davis made history as the only man in any sport from any nation to win three gold medals at the Atlanta Olympic Games. Davis made his second Olympic appearance in the 2000 Games in Sydney, where he was elected captain of the USA Men's Swim Team and took home two silver medals. He went on to break the American record three times in the 200-meter freestyle. After two Olympics and five medals, Josh has established himself as an ambassador for the sport and is pioneering the road for the next generation of professional swimmers.

About Mark Gangloff

A two-time Olympian, Gangloff has earned two gold medals swimming in the preliminaries of the 400-meter medley relay at the 2008 and 2004 Olympics. He was also a member of the American record-breaking 400-meter medley relay team at the 2008 Short Course World Championships, and he earned a silver medal at that meet in the 50-meter breaststroke.