Congress has gone home without acting on a tax extenders package or the biodiesel tax credit before both expire on December 31. The American Soybean Association says this is a disappointing end to an otherwise very positive year for the biodiesel industry. The industry set a record for production in 2011, with more than 800-million gallons produced through October. It is possible that the year-end volumes could approach 1-billion gallons.

A draft package of tax extenders, recently circulated by Senate leaders, includes the biodiesel incentive.  Leaders in both parties have indicated a desire to consider a tax extenders package early in 2012. For this reason, the ASA will continue to urge Congress to come together on a bi-partisan basis to extend the biodiesel tax credit early next year.

ASA says, along with the National Biodiesel Board and our biodiesel industry partners, we will continue to stress the positive economic impact the biodiesel tax incentive delivers across the country, and continue to urge policymakers to end the cycle of uncertainty by enacting a longer-term biodiesel tax credit as soon as possible.