June 04, 2010
Vilsack calls for long-term extensions of ethanol subsidies
Published in Des Moines Register
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is calling for long-term extensions of the financial incentives for ethanol. But, in a conference call with reporters today, he declined to say how Congress should pay for those measures.
He says it’s too soon to make proposals to Congress, because the Obama administration is still working on its strategy for meeting the mandate for the country to use 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022.
He says long-term extensions of the ethanol subsidies are needed in order to attract private capital to new biofuel projects. “It’s very difficult to get investors interested,” he said, “without this long-term commitment.”There’s currently a 45-cent-per-gallon subsidy for corn ethanol that expires at the end of this year, and a $1.01-a-gallon subsidy for ethanol made from crop residue and other sources of plant cellulose. A $1-a-gallon subsidy for biodiesel lapsed at the end of 2009 and is yet to be restored by Congress because of differences among lawmakers about how to pay for that and a variety of other tax measures. The House passed a bill that includes the extension of the biodiesel subsidy before Memorial Day. The legislation now needs Senate approval.
The Agriculture and Energy departments and the Environmental Protection Agency hope to reach a consensus on a biofuel development strategy this summer, according to Vilsack. He did not say when the plan would be released.“We need a plan. We need to show that there’s a way to get to 36 billion gallons,” he said.
The administration said in a report issued in February ...
