As a U.S. government shutdown looms unless lawmakers can agree on a budget before midnight Jan. 19, biodiesel companies are pressing Congress to pass the $1 per gallon biodiesel tax credit, which expired more than a year ago for the fifth time in its existence. On Jan. 17, 75 companies and three organizations from all segments of the biomass-based diesel value chain sent a letter to key leaders in Congress asking them to include the biodiesel tax credit in ongoing budget negotiations or continuing resolution.

In December, Sen. Orrin Hatch introduced S. 2256, a tax extenders act, which includes retroactively extending the biodiesel and renewable diesel tax credits from Jan. 1, 2017, through Dec. 31, 2018. The signatories support passage of S. 2256, which keeps the credit as a blender’s credit vs. reforming the incentive for domestic producers only, which the National Biodiesel Board has pushed for several years.

“Our firm represents many companies and facilities in the biodiesel space and our clients are extremely interested in securing an extension of the biodiesel tax credit for 2017 and 2018,” said Larry Schafer, co-founder of Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm Playmaker Strategies LLC, which led the circulation effort. “We have worked with all sectors of the value chain to develop a unified position on a seamless extension of this necessary tax credit. This letter validates the importance of the tax credit across the advanced biofuels value chain and underscores the need for Congress to address the issue in a timely manner.”

In the letter, the companies and organizations state, “The biodiesel tax credit is an urgent policy matter for our companies,” and that an extension of the credit would “create jobs, reduce fuels costs, diversify the nation's energy supply and bolster domestic energy production.”