The National Biodiesel Board expressed disappointment Tuesday after the Senate voted down two amendments that would have extended the biodiesel tax incentive through the end of the year.
"This is another missed opportunity for Congress to do something to boost the economy. We're talking about thousands of jobs across the country that are affected by this, and the very real possibility that biodiesel plants will go out of business," says Anne Steckel, NBB's vice president of federal affairs. "It's also a missed opportunity for Congress to do something about these oil price spikes by diversifying our fuel supplies and reducing our exposure to the global petroleum markets."
"We thank Sen. Stabenow and Sen. Roberts for including biodiesel in their amendments, and we urge Congress to break this partisan gridlock and find a way to enact policies like the biodiesel tax credit that have strong bipartisan support."
Congress allowed the $1-per-gallon biodiesel tax incentive to expire on December 31, despite the fact that the incentive helped the biodiesel industry achieve record production last year of nearly 1.1 billion gallons, supporting more than 39,000 jobs.
