Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) claims that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) haven't done enough to reach an agreement on the tax extenders package that includes a retroactive extension of the $1 per gallon biodiesel tax credit.
Grassley specifically cited recent layoffs at Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group — one of the largest U.S. biodiesel manufacturers — as a sign of the casualties taking place as Congress continues to seek a compromise on ways to pay for the otherwise noncontroversial bill.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) said last month that he expects the offsets for the extenders bill to be settled in a conference committee, but warned it could take a "considerable" period of time to reach an agreement.
Grassley argues that the standoff over the bill could have been avoided if Reid and Pelosi had worked together to get the extenders package done. "Unfortunately, the Democrat leadership reneged on our effort and biodiesel workers are now getting Pelosi's pink slips. It sounds more and more like we were sold a bill of goods when the current leadership said they wanted to turn the economy around with green jobs," Grassley said.
