WASHINGTON – Fifty-seven groups, including the American Meat Institute, have joined forces to urge Congress to allow the refundable Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) to sunset this year. Congress has the opportunity to end the $6 billion a year subsidy to gasoline refiners who blend corn ethanol into gasoline.

“At a time of spiraling deficits, we do not believe Congress should continue subsidizing gasoline refiners for something that they are already required to do by the Renewable Fuels Standard. Experts like the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office have concluded that the subsidy is no longer necessary, and leading economists agree that ending it would have little impact on ethanol production, prices or jobs,” states the letter sent to House leaders.


“Letting the VEETC expire will help control deficit spending without in any way hindering the development of advanced biofuels, which can help us meet our energy, environmental and food security needs in a fiscally responsible manner,” the letter concludes.