IBB and IRFA go to Capitol Hill

Members of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) and Iowa Biodiesel Board (IBB) have gone to Capitol Hill in Washington to urge Iowa’s Congressional delegation to keep fighting for a reformed biodiesel tax incentive.

The two biodiesel bodies claim that the changes to the incentive would save US taxpayers money and also encourage domestic job creation and energy security.

Recently, bills have been introduced to both the US House and Senate to not only reinstate the biodiesel tax credit, but reform it from a blenders’ credit to a producers’ credit. Both IRFA and IBB claim that such a reform would fix a loophole which allows biodiesel producers from outside of the US to take advantage of the credit simply by blending their biodiesel with petroleum in the country.

“The biodiesel use has skyrocketed since the tax credit was first implemented, from 100 million gallons in 2005 to nearly 2.9 billion gallons at the end of last year,” said IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Unfortunately Congress has allowed this successful tax incentive to expire. Yesterday we thanked Iowa’s delegation for their strong support in reinstating and reforming the biodiesel tax credit in order to boost domestic energy and quality jobs.”

The delegation to Capitol Hill also asked Iowa’s representatives to continue supporting the Renewable Fuel Standard and oppose any efforts to undermine it.

“Both the tax incentive and RFS are examples of successful bipartisan policies that make sense, and we’re grateful to our state’s delegation for their leadership on them,” said IBB Executive Director Grant Kimberley. “Extending and reforming the tax credit will help realign it to work as Congress intended, supporting American jobs and products, while reducing reliance on other countries for our vital fuel supply.” 

According to LMC International, a business consultancy in the agricultural sector, changing the biodiesel tax credit to a producers’ one would support 82,000 jobs and $14.7 billion in economic activity.