The American Soybean Association (ASA) is pleased that Representative Kenny Hulshof (R-MO) and a bipartisan group of Members of Congress advanced the biodiesel effort today by introducing legislation to provide a tax incentive for the fuel’s use.

Representative Hulshof, who sponsored similar legislation last year said, "Encouraging the use of biodiesel holds great promise. It opens new markets for agriculture, creates jobs in our rural communities, reduces our dependence on foreign oil and is friendly to the environment. My bill is meant to make biodiesel’s potential a reality."

The Hulshof legislation would provide a reduction in the diesel excise tax for diesel blended with biodiesel. The bill also contains a provision to protect losses to the Highway Trust Fund.

"Soybean growers praise Representative Hulshof and the other Members of the House of Representatives who are taking the lead in promoting biodiesel, a clean burning fuel made from renewable sources, such as soybean oil," said ASA President Dwain Ford, a soybean producer from Kinmundy, Ill. "We feel the time is right for this initiative and encourage Congress to act quickly to approve energy legislation that includes biodiesel tax incentives."

The Hulshof bill compliments legislation already introduced in the Senate. Earlier this week, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced a comprehensive energy revenue package that contains biodiesel tax incentives encompassed in legislation, S. 355, introduced last month by Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Grassley.

Leaderships in both the Senate and the House of Representatives have pledged to advance energy legislation this year.