By a vote of 71 to 26, senators rejected a move by Sen. John McCain of Arizona to strike Sen. Grassley's bipartisan amendment to extend the ethanol incentive to 2007. The ethanol amendment is part of the highway funding bill endorsed by the Senate Finance Committee and currently under consideration by the full Senate. Specifically, Grassley's amendment would extend the highway tax exemption for ethanol to the year 2007. Current law maintains the ethanol incentive through the year 2000.
"Today's vote sends a message loud and clear: not only does the U.S. Senate support the current ethanol tax incentive, but the U.S. Senate wants to extend the ethanol incentive well into the next century," Grassley said.
Today marketed the second successful effort led by Grassley to reject anti-ethanol forces in the Senate. Last June, Senators rejected a similar amendment offered by McCain by a vote of 69 to 30.
"Extension of the ethanol incentive is essential to continued investment in expanded ethanol production throughout the Midwest," Grassley said. "Ethanol is good for the environment, the rural economy and it helps reduce America's dependence on foreign oil." In fact, ethanol is credited with creating 195,200 jobs, increasing net farm income by $4.5 billion, improving the U.S. trade balance by $2 billion, and adding more than $450 million to state tax receipts.
Grassley serves as the third most senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, which maintains jurisdiction over all tax issues. The highway bill under consideration by the Senate must be passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President before May 1, or a temporary funding measure must be put in place until a six-year plan is completed.
