Biodiesel enthusiasts celebrate Senate passage of biofuel provisons

The American Soybean Association (ASA) and the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) say biodiesel enthusiasts are celebrating today, following the US Senate's approval of the first biodiesel tax incentive. Congress passed the incentive as part of H.R. 4520, the Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income Tax (FSC/ETI), also called the American JOBS Creation Act of 2004.

The House passed the conference report by a 280 to 141 vote Thursday. The bill now heads to President George Bush for his signature.

The passage of the FSC-ETI bill provides important tax incentives for agriculture.

"This legislation includes new tax credits for biodiesel, improves tax laws to boost ethanol production and promotes the use of biomass while reducing the tax burden on farmers," Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) noted today. "The bill also helps close abusive tax shelters and provides small businesses with more opportunity to make long-term investments," he said. 

Harkin pointed out that the bill does not include provisions that would have preserved overtime rights for American workers and granted FDA authority to regulate tobacco. 10/11/2004 02:47 p.m.CDT