With President Obama touring Poet Biorefining in Macon, Mo. Wednesday, the National Biodiesel Board took the opportunity to plead for the White House to help Congress finish the job on the lapsed biodiesel tax incentive and put industry employees back to work. Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board, says they are pleased the President continues to demonstrate his support for the biofuels industry, but he also needs to remind Congress that their inaction could cost the country tens of thousands of jobs.
Congress failed to reinstate the biodiesel tax incentive for 2010 before it expired at the end of last year. As a result, domestic biodiesel production has plummeted, employees at biodiesel manufacturing plants have been laid off and in some cases plants have ceased operations. Jobe says the industry needs a little help to keep American made biodiesel competitive with foreign oil.
Earlier this month, representatives of fuel marketers and retailers joined agricultural organizations and the NBB to demand immediate action from Congressional leaders. Both the House and Senate have passed bills to retroactively extend the biodiesel tax incentive. However, the two chambers must still reconcile the differences between the two versions of the bill before it can be sent to the President to be signed into law.
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