Iowa Republicans get proposed cuts to ethanol incentives out of House debt-ceiling bill

For a time, Iowa’s U.S. House members were caught between a stalk and a hard place.

But the four members of Iowa’s delegation stood their fertile ground, ultimately persuading their party’s leaders to yield so the members could support significant legislation proposed by their party.

Iowa’s all-Republican congressional delegation — U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Zach Nunn and Randy Feenstra — on Wednesday said they planned to vote in favor of House Republicans’ bill that addresses the federal debt ceiling after those Iowans negotiated with leadership for the removal of proposed reductions to incentives for ethanol and biofuels production.

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House Republicans’ bill would approve raising the nation’s debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion in order to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations but includes federal spending cuts, according to reports. It was intended to serve as part of negotiations between the Republican House majority and Democratic President Joe Biden.

Among the proposed spending cuts in the House Republican bill, originally, was the phaseout or repeal of five tax credits for ethanol and biofuel production.

Those proposed cuts put Iowa’s delegation in a tight spot: a vote for their party’s bill also would have been a vote to hamper the state’s $5 billion ethanol industry.

The Iowa delegation opposed the proposed cuts and told House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, they would not support the bill or any future bill as part of debt ceiling negotiations that includes the cuts to biofuels programs.

Leadership eventually removed the proposed biofuel incentive reductions, clearing the way for Iowa’s House members to vote in favor of the bill.

“Since this proposal was unveiled, our delegation has stood united for Iowa’s farmers and producers fighting to amend the bill to protect biofuels tax credits,” the four Iowa Republicans said in a joint statement. “Having successfully amended the bill to protect funding for these tax credits, our delegation will vote for this legislation, which is a starting point to avoid a default and cut wasteful spending. As negotiations continue, we have made it crystal clear that we will not support any bill that eliminates any of these critical biofuels tax credits.”

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, also a Republican, praised the delegation for standing firm.

The Iowa delegation’s “commitment helped protect an industry that contributes over $6 billion to Iowa’s economy and accounts for over 60 percent of Iowa’s corn,” Reynolds said in a statement. “I want to thank Speaker McCarthy for working with the delegation to find a compromise that continues the conversation while recognizing the importance of biofuels to our country.”

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