[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 87 (Thursday, June 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6790-S6791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN:
  S. 3600. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow 
the allocation of the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property 
credit to patrons of agricultural cooperatives; to the Committee on 
Finance.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  On page S6790, June 29, 2006, S. 3600 is referred to the 
Committee on Appropriations.
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: . . . to the 
Committee on Finance.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Agricultural 
Cooperative Renewable Fuel Stations Act of 2006. This legislation 
closes a gap in the existing tax incentive for installing alternative 
refueling stations. The bill extends the existing alternative fuel 
vehicle refueling property credit to patrons of agricultural 
cooperatives.
  Our continued dependence on foreign oil is extremely worrisome. 
Today, about 60 percent of our oil comes from overseas. Last year, 
Americans imported almost 5 billion barrels of oil. Our Nation's 
overreliance on oil-derived gasoline poses a threat to National 
security and places a heavy economic burden on the citizens of our 
Nation. In addition, this heavy dependence on oil negatively impacts 
the environment.
  That is why Senator Lugar and I, with strong bipartisan support, have 
pushed to replace foreign oil with more home-grown biofuels and 
biobased products. We recently introduced the Biofuels Security Act to 
aggressively ramp up the production and use of ethanol and biodiesel, 
ensure greater E-85 availability as well as what are known as flex-fuel 
cars, those that can run on E-85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 
percent gasoline. Last year I authored critically important biomass 
research, development and deployment provisions to the energy bill. 
This new measure complements such efforts.
  Cooperatives play an important role in the marketing of agricultural 
products. According to the USDA, there are over 3,000 agricultural 
cooperatives in America today representing millions of American farmers 
and investors. The production and distribution of bioenergy offers a 
new and lucrative economic opportunity for these organizations.
  This year the ethanol industry alone will add more than 5 billion 
gallons of clean burning, renewable fuel to our energy supply. Between 
now and 2012 ethanol is expected to contribute $200 billion to the GDP. 
Not surprisingly, many cooperatives are eager to participate in the 
budding bioeconomy. One way for them to do this is to offer E-85

[[Page S6791]]

to their customers. This is a natural fit for farmer cooperatives, 
given that they already often produce the feedstocks as well as the 
ethanol itself that goes into E-85.
  Section 30C of the Internal Revenue Code--26 U.S.C. Sec. 30C--
provides a tax credit of 30 percent of the cost of qualified 
alternative fuel vehicle refueling properties up to $30,000. This 
legislation would simply allow agricultural cooperatives to pass the 
section 30C tax credit through to their members. It parallels pass-
through provisions we have enacted previously, such as the small-
producer ethanol tax credit and the wind power tax credit of the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005. The section 30C credit is fostering the creation 
and expansion of alternative fueling infrastructure and this 
legislation would bolster its effectiveness.
  The benefits of this legislation are clear. By supporting the 
production, distribution and use of renewable fuels such as E-85 we can 
help reduce pollution, increase farm income, create jobs, bolster 
economic growth and promote energy and national security. Farmer owned 
agricultural cooperatives can and will be leading the way in the months 
and years ahead.
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