[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 175 (Thursday, December 3, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8380-S8381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Ms. Cantwell):
  S. 2353. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend 
and modify the incentives for biodiesel; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Biodiesel Tax 
Incentive Reform and Extension Act of 2015. I am pleased to be joined 
by Senator Cantwell. Our bill will modify the biodiesel fuel blenders 
credit to a domestic production credit, and extend the credit through 
2018.
  Congress created the biodiesel tax incentive in 2005. As a result of 
this incentive, and the Renewable Fuel Standard, biodiesel is providing 
significant benefits to the nation. Domestic biodiesel production 
supports tens of thousands of jobs. Replacing traditional diesel with 
biodiesel reduces emissions and creates cleaner air.
  Homegrown biodiesel improves our energy security by diversifying our 
transportation fuels and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. 
Biodiesel itself is a very diverse fuel. It can be produced from a wide 
array of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean and other 
plant oils, and animal fats.
  Senator Cantwell and I have been advocating for years a modification 
to the current incentive. We have proposed making the credit available 
for the domestic production of biodiesel, rather than a mixture credit 
available to the blender of the fuel, going back to 2009.
  The bill we are introducing today is similar to an amendment that I 
offered with Senator Cantwell during consideration of the tax extenders 
package in the Senate Finance Committee in July of this year. Our 
biodiesel reform amendment passed unanimously by voice vote.
  Converting to a producer credit improves the incentive in many ways. 
The blenders credit can be difficult to administer, because the 
blending of the fuel can occur at many different stages of the fuel 
distribution. This can make it difficult to ensure that only fuel that 
qualifies for the credit claims the incentive It has been susceptible 
to abuse because of this.
  A credit for domestic production will also ensure that we are 
incentivizing the domestic industry, rather than subsidizing imported 
biofuels. It's projected that imports from Argentina, Singapore, the 
European Union, South Korea and others could exceed 1.5 billion gallons 
over this year and next.
  We should not provide a U.S. taxpayer benefit to imported biofuels. 
By restricting the credit to domestic production, we will also save 
taxpayer money. The amendment adopted in the Finance Committee is 
estimated to reduce the cost of the extension by $90 million.
  Importantly, modifying the credit will have little to no impact on 
the consumer. Much of the credit will continue to be passed on to the 
blender and ultimately, the consumer. Additionally, the U.S. biodiesel 
industry is currently operating at only 60 percent of capacity. The 
domestic biodiesel industry has the capacity and access to affordable 
feedstocks to meet the demand of U.S. consumers.
  It is my understanding that representatives from the House and 
Senate, along with the White House, are currently meeting to finalize a 
tax extender package before the end of the year. I strongly urge them 
to maintain the Senate position, and include the biodiesel reform 
policies that were adopted in the Senate Finance Committee.

[[Page S8381]]

  This modification will ensure that the credit is doing what Congress 
intended--incentivizing investment in domestic biodiesel production. 
Surely, House and Senate leaders recognize that we should not be 
providing a U.S. taxpayer subsidy to already heavily subsidized foreign 
biodiesel imports.
  I therefore urge my colleagues to support this common-sense, cost 
reduction modification.

                          ____________________