U.S. Legislative Updates

Biodiesel and ethanol tax credits will expire on December 31, 2011, absent action by the Congress.  The failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the "Super Committee") to reach an agreement on a plan to reduce the federal deficit shifts the focus in Congress to preventing the expiration of several tax credits, including biodiesel and ethanol tax credits.

For biodiesel, the goal is to win an extension of the incentive through the Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform and Extension Act of 2011 (S. 1277 and H.R. 2238).  The legislation extends the biodiesel income and excise tax credits through December 31, 2014.  However, it is increasingly likely that the ethanol credit will not be renewed.


U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced a final rule specifically prohibiting interstate truck and bus drivers from using hand-held cell phones while operating their vehicles. The joint rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is the latest action by the U.S. Department of Transportation to end distracted driving.

The final rule prohibits commercial drivers from using a hand-held mobile telephone while operating a commercial truck or bus. Drivers who violate the restriction will face federal civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense and disqualification from operating a commercial motor vehicle for multiple offenses. Additionally, states will suspend a driver's commercial driver's license (CDL) after two or more serious traffic violations. Commercial truck and bus companies that allow their drivers to use hand-held cell phones while driving will face a maximum penalty of $11,000.

Approximately four million commercial drivers would be affected by this final rule.


Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is asking the major automobile manufacturers to help with his investigation into the Obama administration’s recently announced fuel economy standards. In a fifteen-page letter sent to the CEOs of fifteen auto companies on November 28, Rep. Issa asks for their "voluntary participation" by responding to dozens of questions about negotiations with the administration on the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. Issa asks the executives wide-ranging questions, including what employees in their companies participated in the negotiations, and about specific media reports that portrayed the negotiations as not being nearly as cooperative as the administration has described.