Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Pulled

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has stripped out a proposal extending the $1-a-gallon tax credit for U.S. biodiesel producers from the jobs bill expected to come for a vote once the session resumes on Feb. 22.

Reid, D-NV, says he wants a small jobs bill that can pass quickly, blowing apart a bigger package with several tax extender proposals that had been worked out by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-MT, and Finance Committee ranking member Charles Grassley, R-IA.

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Baucus and Grassley had attached a one-year tax credit extension biodiesel producers had sought to revive production of the fuel.

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The credit expired Dec. 31, and now it’s not clear when the extension proposal will come up for a vote.

The National Biodiesel Board, which has been calling for the extension, expressed shock at Reid’s move.

"We are extremely disappointed," says Michael Frohlich, a spokesman for the group. "Reid basically pulled the rug from under the Finance Committee. This is short-sighted. We hope he revisits this issue before next week.

We’ll continue fighting. The stability and survival or biodiesel plants depend on this tax credit. This credit supports 23,000 jobs."

(Source: DTN)

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