December 23, 2009
Dear Majority Leader Reid and Minority Leader McConnell,
On behalf of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), I encourage you to not allow the federal biodiesel tax credit to expire on December 31, 2009. Allowing this vital incentive for the nation’s biodiesel industry to perish will undoubtedly prove to have dire consequences for rural America.
NASDA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association that represents the commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the state departments of agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories. As regulators of our nation’s agriculture industry, NASDA members are actively involved in ensuring the safety of an abundant food supply, protection of animal and plant health and our environment, as well as promoting the vitality of our rural communities.
U.S. agriculture has proven time and time again to be vital for our clean energy future. When it comes to biofuels, replacing the use of imported petroleum with domestically produced sources of energy made from the farm addresses many economic, environmental and national security issues. With the trials and tribulations throughout our farm communities, along with the demand to create more green jobs, federal incentives like the biodiesel tax credit are ever so critical. In fact, according to a report from the National Biodiesel Board, if the incentive is allowed to lapse, the industry could find themselves having to shed 23,000 American jobs. At a time when the U.S economy is struggling and unemployment rates across the country are in double-digits, rural America can absolutely not afford to lose this vital federal incentive.
Thank you for taking our concerns into consideration as the Senate continues its work before the end of the year.
Sincerely,
Ed Kee
NASDA President
Secretary, Delaware Department of Agriculture
CC: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln
Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss