Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis issued the following statement after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced that he would not bring the omnibus to the floor. The bill would have stripped funding for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program provides financial assistance to owners and operators of agricultural and non-industrial private forest land who wish to produce and biomass feedstocks for next generation biofuels.
“We are encouraged to see that the job-producing Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) will live to see another day. The BCAP is instrumental if this nation is ever going to deliver commercially-viable cellulosic ethanol to the marketplace. Cellulosic ethanol is a 50-state solution and is a cornerstone of our national strategy, as stated in the Energy Independence and Security Act, of weaning ourselves off foreign oil. Eliminating the program would cause economic uncertainty in the market and threaten future development within the industry. If we truly want to achieve our energy independence goals, create U.S. jobs in green industries like ethanol, and help clean the environment, then we need to invest in programs like the BCAP to help secure a future for biofuels made from next generation feedstocks.”