A jobs bill done properly will create incentives for private enterprise to expand their businesses and hire more employees. With the passage in the US Senate on February 24th of a revised jobs bill, approximately 23,000 biodiesel sector employees in 44 states will actually lose their jobs.
The biodiesel industry has been in a holding pattern since the end of 2009 awaiting the extension for the $1 per gallon tax credit for blenders of biodiesel. The recently passed jobs bill excluded the requested one year extension of the blenders credit. Plants that have been idle will soon be shutting down. Investment in extending biodiesel production infrastructure will soon be suspended unless a longer term tax credit bill eventually is introduced and passed.
Failure to extend the biodiesel blending tax credit has taken the industry by surprise. Since the credit has bipartisan support among law makers, passage of the extension appeared to be certain. However, because Congress dedicated their efforts to moving forward the health care reform bill, they decided not focus attention on the tax extenders package.
Unfortunately thousands of biodiesel employees now will be facing severe cut backs in hours and ultimately permanent layoff looms. It seems rather ironic that a government administration that is trying hard to convince the public that they are pro jobs and pro environment, neglected to include a tax credit extension that would have furthered both causes.
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