“Recent policy changes have left consumers and American farmers behind,” the organizations said in a letter to lawmakers. “We encourage the Committee, starting with today’s hearing, to work with stakeholders throughout the country to bring back the Biodiesel Blenders’ Tax Credit so that biofuels can go back to playing the role that they used to play: lowering retail fuel prices in the United States. Farmers, producers, and consumers all benefit from a tax credit that incentivizes the consumption of biofuel. Biofuel policy works best when it helps the entire supply chain lower consumers’ costs at the pump.”
The organizations say when Congress enacted the "One Big Beautiful Bill," fuel retail prices were stable. Extending a producer credit rather than a blender credit did not present clear-and-present economic downside for fuel consumers. "Now, the harmful economic ramifications of transitioning from a blender credit to a producer credit are rapidly materializing in the form of increasing oil prices and a corresponding increase in retail fuel prices, harming American consumers who continue to grapple with affordability concerns," they say.
Until 2025, the $1 per gallon Biodiesel Blenders’ Tax Credit served as a brake on accelerating fuel prices. The Biodiesel Tax Credit incentivized fuel retailers to blend higher quantities of biodiesel by providing a clear, understandable tax credit that allowed fuel retailers to mitigate price increases and sell fuel to consumers at the lowest possible price. It further helped lower fuel prices for the nation’s trucking fleets, which move the vast majority of consumer goods. Without the biodiesel tax credit in place, rapidly rising diesel prices stand to exacerbate price pressures throughout the broader economy.
"NATSO, SIGMA and NACS urge swift legislative action to restore the $1 per gallon Biodiesel Blenders’ Tax Credit and look forward to working with the Committee to address their concerns about U.S. Domestic Agriculture production," according to a press release on NATSO's website.
