There has been talk about environmental issues and their relations to agriculture in the past few weeks. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says an extension of the biodiesel tax credit would be a step in the right direction.
Senator Grassley, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, says the biodiesel tax extender is at the top of his priority list. Grassley added the biodiesel industry employees 60,000 workers, generates $11 Billion dollars in economic value, and benefits the environment.
However, the tax extender credit has not been extended since 2017. Grassley feels the credit is being held hostage by Democrats who are using it as a bargaining chip. Grassley says he is frustrated with Democrats, led by Senator Chuck Schumer, accusing Republicans of being anti-environment while they hold up a tax extender to an environmentally beneficial industry. Grassley says biodiesel has much bipartisan support, and Senator Schumer needs to be cooperative with members on both sides of the aisle.
Grassley called again for the extension to be part of a general phase-out plan of the biodiesel tax credit over seven years. The Senator says it is a reasonable plan that both the Congress and the industry can agree with.
