National Biodiesel Day
Marked by Unstable Petroleum Prices
Congressional Leaders Call for Extended Tax Incentive,
Renewable Fuels Standard
March 18, 2005... Saint Louis, Missouri...
Biodiesel and soybean leaders commemorate National Biodiesel
Day, March 18, by calling for the passage of bills extending
the biodiesel tax incentive, creating a more rigorous
Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and instituting a small
producer tax credit. The National Biodiesel Board (NBB),
American Soybean Association (ASA) and leading Members of
Congress are emphasizing the importance of building use of
American-made renewable fuels like biodiesel as another spell
of high petroleum prices hits the pumps.
Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel made from renewable
resources such as soybean oil. Its use increases energy
security and extends petroleum reserves. Biodiesel took a
major step forward last year when President Bush signed into
law a tax incentive designed to encourage consumers to use the
fuel. This historic moment would not have occurred without
the steadfast support of biodiesel champions like Senator
Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and
Congressman Kenny Hulshof (R-MO).
Legislation extending the biodiesel tax incentive beyond its
December 31, 2006, expiration date is expected to be
introduced soon by our key champions. “We owe a great debt to
our champions, Senators Grassley, Senator Lincoln, and
Congressman Hulshof for their unwavering commitment to passing
the excise tax credit,” said ASA President Neal Bredehoeft
from his farm in Alma, Missouri. “The tax incentive has been
our number one priority, and extending it beyond its two-year
limit remains our most important task. We’re fortunate to
have a host of champions in Congress who recognize how vital
helping biodiesel succeed is to the future of this country.”
President Bush has shown his support for efforts afoot in
Washington to encourage the use of biodiesel. Last week, he
said one objective of energy policy “…is to diversify our
energy supply by developing alternative sources of energy.”
The President went on to say “Congress needs to continue
strong support for ethanol and biodiesel. We're going to
continue to figure out ways to grow our way out of dependence
on foreign oil. Someday somebody is going to walk in and say,
well, we got a lot of soybeans, Mr. President. And we're less
dependent on foreign sources of oil because of biodiesel.”
In a move praised by
soybean and biodiesel leaders, renewable fuels standard (RFS)
legislation has been introduced establishing a national
standard. One bill, under the leadership of Sen. John Thune
(R-SD) requires six billion gallons of renewable fuels by
2012. Today, Senators Dick Lugar
(R-IN) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) lead the effort introducing a
bipartisan bill establishing an accelerated RFS bill requiring
8 billion gallons by 2012. Cosponsors include Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist, and Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Chuck
Grassley (R-IA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Kit Bond (R-MO), Jim
Talent (R-MO), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Dick
Durbin (D-IL), Jim Bunning (R-KY), John Thune (R-SD), Barack
Obama (D-IL), Ken Salazar (D-CO) and Evan Bayh (D-IN).
Another piece of legislation is a small producer tax credit
introduced by Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) that establishes a tax
credit for small “agri-biodiesel” producers, allowing
producers that make up to 60 million gallons of biodiesel per
year to be eligible for a ten-cent-per-gallon tax credit.
Producers could receive the tax credit up to 15 million
gallons of production annually.
“These bills will help build both supply and demand for
biodiesel, helping what is still a young industry to take root
in the American fuel system,” said Darryl Brinkmann, chairman
of NBB and a soybean grower from Carlyle, Ill. “We’re so
close to being in a position to make a significant dent in
imported petroleum. But it’s going to take the continued
bi-partisan support of Members of Congress and a strong Energy
Bill that can become law this year.”
National Biodiesel Day takes place on March 18, the date of
Rudolf Diesel’s birthday. The biodiesel industry chose his
birthday to honor him for his foresight in recognizing the
valuable role of vegetable oil based fuel. In the late 19th
Century, Diesel ran early versions of his engine on peanut
oil. In a 1912 speech, Diesel said “the use of vegetable oils
for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils
may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum
and the coal tar products of the present time.”
Biodiesel works in any diesel engine with few or no
modifications. It has the highest energy balance of any fuel
and can be used in its pure form (B100), or blended with
petroleum diesel at any level. More than 500 major fleets use
biodiesel commercially nationwide. More than 300 retail
filling stations also make biodiesel available to the public.
More information about biodiesel can be found at
www.biodiesel.org.
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For more information contact:
Neal Bredehoeft, ASA President,
660/674-2442, nbredehoeft@almanet.net
Jenna Higgins/NBB, (800) 841-5849; Bob Callanan/ASA (314)
576-1770
Access this release at www.SoyGrowers.com/newsroom/news.htm
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