US biodiesel tax credit stalls again

29 July 2010 22:40  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--Another attempt to get a $1/gal biodiesel blending tax credit through the US Congress has stalled, sources said on Thursday.

Senator Blanche Lincoln (Democrat-Nebraska) pinned an amendment containing the credit to a small-business loan bill currently being debated in the Senate. But Democrats failed to muster enough support to win the 60 votes needed to overcome Republican blocking of the bill, sources said.

Since the credit expired at the end of 2009, buying interest for biodiesel has crumbled. The US biodiesel industry is currently running at about 10% of capacity.

An attempt to pass the credit as part of a larger unemployment benefits legislation package also failed after lawmakers stripped it from the larger draft bill.

The Senate could bring the bill back up for a vote before it goes into summer recess next week, but so far there is no concrete indication whether it will do so, sources said.

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