Braley, Grassley decry Senate inaction on biofuels tax credit

Iowa congressmen continue to express frustration with the U.S. Senate's failure to extend tax credits they say are needed to return biodiesel plants to production and restore jobs in a key Iowa industry.

The A biofuels tax credit must be extended to reinstate more than 20,000 jobs in 43 states, including about 2,000 jobs in Iowa, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley.

However, action on the measure was delayed again June 17 when the Senate failed to get 60 votes needed to bring the measure to the floor.

First District Rep. Bruce Braley, a Waterloo Democrat, blamed “Republican obstructionism” that is “once again preventing hard-working Iowans from getting back to work.”

The House voted in December to extend the biodiesel tax credit. However, the credit expired when the Senate failed to take action until March. The House voted again to renew the extension May 28.

 “It is completely inexcusable for Senate Republicans to play more political games while the hard-working employees of Iowa's biodiesel facilities remain out of work,” he said, and encouraged senators to “put partisan politics aside, do their jobs and pass this tax credit as soon as possible.”

However, Beth Levine, spokeswoman for Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, said the “real story” is that the non-controversial biodiesel tax credit has been stalled since January because Democratic leadership insists on packaging it with “political hot-button” legislation that increases the deficit by $55 billion. Action Thursday was blocked by the 41 Senate Republican senators, who objected to the deficit spending, and two Democrats.

Levine said that Grassley's attempts to extend the tax credits without the controversial portions of the legislation, including a bipartisan deal with Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Montana, were blocked by Senate Democratic leadership.