The four Iowa Republicans who serve in the U.S. House have voted to cut federal spending and raise the federal government’s debt ceiling — after biofuels issues were removed from the package.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s original plan would have scaled back tax incentives for carbon pipelines, ended the tax credit for biodiesel and repealed a technology tax credit that may benefit ethanol producers.
Congresswomen Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Le Claire and Ashley Hinson of Marion along with Congressmen Zach Nunn of Bondurant and Randy Feenstra of Hull successfully lobbied to have those anti-biofuels provisions removed. The group issued a joint statement, saying the biofuels industry “drives the Iowa economy” and they were able to protect federal biofuels incentives during negotiations with House speaker.
Governor Reynolds issued a statement thanking House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for agreeing to a compromise that “recognizes the importance of biofuels to our country.”
Ag groups and trade associations that represent the biofuels industry praised Iowa’s U.S. House delegation for standing up for ethanol and biodiesel. Iowa is the country’s leading producer of corn-based ethanol and soybean-based biodiesel.