Reid Cuts Biodiesel Tax Credit from Senate Jobs Bill
Sen. Reid (left) took hold of the jobs bill and, to the dismay of Sen. Grassley (right), eliminated the extension of the biodiesel tax credit. (image:msnbcmedia2.msn.com and huffingtonpost.com)
On Tuesday an extension of the biodiesel tax credit was included in a draft of the Senate jobs bill, offering hope to the struggling biodiesel industry, but on Thursday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that many of the proposed bill’s provisions would be slashed, including the biodiesel tax credit extension, reports The Hill.
Sen. Reid’s version of the bill is estimated to cost $15 billion. The draft bill, created by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), came with an estimated price tag of $85 billion. An aide of Reid’s said the changes were made to remove points of contention between the two parties that could halt the bill’s passage, and the excised parts of the bill could find their way into future legislation. A spokesperson from Grassley’s office, Jill Kozeny, claimed the cuts were purely political, saying Reid had targeted provisions that were favored by Republicans. The Republican Grassley had been a strong proponent of the biodiesel tax credit, but so had Baucus, a leading Democrat, and President Obama used the State of the Union address to name biofuels as an important component of his energy policy.
According to Kozeny, the biodiesel industry has been “losing jobs since the credit expired at the end of the year,” which the National Biodiesel Board, an industry group, had predicted would happen if the tax credit were not renewed. Michael Frohlich, a representative of the National Biodiesel Board, said 23,000 jobs were at risk, and the industry couldn’t wait for the next jobs bill: “This really is an immediate need to this industry.”
As HeatingOil.com has reported before, the biofuel industry is closely tied to the heating oil industry, as cleaner-burning and more efficient biofuel-blended heating oil is widely viewed as the future of the fuel. Without the aid of the federal tax credit, the US biofuel industry will strain to grown and reduce production costs, which will slow the expanding availability of biofuel heating oil and its gradual price decline.
LFC says: says:
After the B.P Disaster you would think the presedent and every body in goverment would want the biodeisel industry to grow.Remember the is no replacement in the near future for all those diesel engines that trucks in america deliver all are goods.Also rail and marine;come when will are people that we trust to help this great country start doing what they promise during there election campains?This is not the time for politics we need serious action now not later.Remember the trucks,rail and marine what other information would any body need?I wonder sometimes do we really think things thru?Or will we countinue to wait for more trouble before we act?
DHW says: says:
Now is a bad idea to slash the proposed bill provisions.
good says: says:
The biodiesel industry is just not sustainable without this credit. I work for a biodiesel company and see the cost to make this product vs. the market price. The math just doesn’t work out.
Duda says: says:
This bill is heavily needed for the biodiesel industry. Many plants have had serious trouble making a profit and have loans to pay off. We need biodiesel production to continue to help aid us away from some of the foreign oil. Eventually fuel prices will go back onto the rise again, but until that happens, these companies need help.