House Approves Spending Package for Agriculture Through September 30, 2020

The House of Representatives Tuesday advanced a spending package that will extend the biodiesel tax credit and offer additional disaster aid to farmers. The American Soybean Association says the biodiesel tax credit will “expand markets for soybean growers.” The tax credit expansion is part of a tax package amendment included in a funding bill for the Department of Agriculture and others. If passed, the credit would be extended at $1 per-gallon for five years covering 2018-22, retroactive to December 31, 2017, through December 31, 2022. The biodiesel tax incentive lapsed in December 2017. The National Biodiesel Board says the credit will support expansion of biodiesel and renewable diesel production. NBB’s Kurk Kovarik says the deal provides policy certainty that needed to “support investments and continued growth of production.” Lawmakers are also including an additional $1.5 billion in disaster aid in the spending bill, aimed at helping farmers recover from damages in 2019. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation later this week.