Congress burning the midnight oil passed the tax cut legislation that will help the United States burn less foreign oil.

The final vote was 277-148 on the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010 (H.R. 4853) that now goes to the president’s desk to be signed into law. Despite opposition from some Democrats the bill passed without any changes. In addition to extension of unemployment benefits and Bush-era tax cuts, the bill extends the blenders tax credit for ethanol and retroactively extends the biodiesel tax credit that expired at the end of 2009.

Specifically, the bill extends the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) through 2011 at the current rate of 45 cents per gallon, as well as the associated tariff on imported ethanol at the existing 54 cent level. The bill also extends through 2011 the 10 cent per gallon producer tax credit for small ethanol producers producing no more 60 million gallon of ethanol a year. The tax credit is applicable to just the first 15 million gallons of production for eligible producers.

In addition, the measure extends through 2011 the $0.50 per gallon alternative fuel credit and the alternative fuel mixture tax credits and the 30 percent investment tax credit for alternative vehicle refueling property for one year.