 | U.S. Senate introduces GREEN Jobs Act; OCGA reaches out to media to express urgency for action in Congress
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The Ohio Corn Growers Association this week thanked Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) for their introduction of the GREEN Jobs Act of 2010, which mirrors H.R. 4640, the Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act, introduced by Reps. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) and John Shimkus (R-Ill.) in March. Additional cosponsors on the Senate bill include Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and Tim Johnson (D-S.D.). Specifically, the Senate legislation would extend the 45 cents-per-gallon ethanol blenders tax credit and the 54 cents-per-gallon ethanol import tariff for five years, to the end of 2015. Both provisions are slated to expire at the end of this year. The bill would also extend the $1.01 per gallon cellulosic ethanol production tax credit until the end of 2015. |
| Some Ohio farmers are already done planting?
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There's no doubt that Mother Nature has been on the side of farmers so far this Spring. Many corn growers have almost completed planting or are coming to close to being done planting rows. Ohio will have some wet weather this weekend which will help the freshly-planted seeds in the ground.
And, as we know, this Wednesday was Earth Day. You probably heard many people claiming their rights to Earth Day, but, farmers are the first environmentalists.
Read more:
http://ohiocorn.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=180  |
| | ACTION ALERT: Ask Congress to support the Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act
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The Ohio Corn Growers Association (OCGA) is urging lawmakers to approve the recently introduced Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act, which will help the country decrease its dependence on foreign oil and protect up to 160,000 important jobs nationwide.
Among other items, the legislation would extend the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), also known as the blender's tax credit, for another five years.
Because of corn ethanol and other renewable fuels' benefits to the economy, energy and the environment, lawmakers approved the tax credit in 2004 as part of the JOBS Creation Act. The tax credit provided a $.51-per-gallon payment to gasoline refiners for blending ethanol into the gasoline supply, until the 2008 Farm Bill reduced the credit to $.45 per gallon. The credit is scheduled to expire Dec. 31, 2010.
Lawmakers passed the act, including VEETC, because it reflects good public policy that provides a tremendous return on its investment, Siekman said. It stimulates Ohio's economy with jobs, makes fuel cheaper for consumers and is essential to achieving the requirements of the Renewable Fuels Standard that was enacted in the Energy and Security Act of 2007, which states that the U.S. must use 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022.
Failure to renew the VEETC would be devastating to agriculture, the ethanol industry and rural communities.
Contact your representative here:
http://ohiocorn.org/legislative.php
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