The American Farm Bureau Federation is supporting a new direction in biofuels policy away from the blenders tax credit and toward increasing infrastructure.
“The whole discussion has been evolving within the industry and within the Congress,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman during a press conference following the conclusion of the organization’s 92nd annual meeting. “It doesn’t surprise me that that showed up in our policy this year and our members have said it’s a good idea for us to make that transition.”
“Part of that is the recognition that maybe that blend credit isn’t serving as good a purpose as it could and the fact that it is a pot of money that may be subject to budget reductions and if we could shift that to infrastructure you can make the case that its a better use of public funds,” Stallman added.
The voting delegates of the nation’s largest general farm organization also adopted urged Congress to “pursue vigorous oversight” of the Environmental Protection Agency.
In approving the “sense of the delegate body” resolution, the delegates said “congressional action is necessary to restore common sense to environmental regulation on our farms.” EPA, they said, is limiting the use of private property, “encroaching on state land use and water quality planning efforts,” and impeding economic growth.
To change those regulatory trends, the delegates urged Congress to assess the impact EPA’s actions have had on agriculture, conduct a “critical examination of how the agency uses science,” and “determine an adequate budget for necessary agency activities.”
The resolution also asked lawmakers to consider legislation to “halt” EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases.