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Budgets & Biotech: Congress Urged to Continue Supporting Advanced Biofuels

Three leading biotechnology trade groups are urging Congress to protect important bioenergy program funding.

In a Feb. 25 letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the groups outlined several programs funded by Congress that have helped the biofuels industry grow and create jobs.

The letter, authored by BIO, the Advanced Biofuels Association and the Algal Biomass Organization, asks lawmakers to maintain the federal government’s commitment to helping commercialize advanced biofuels through its multiple grant and loan guarantee programs.

“The DOE and USDA programs have issued a series of recent awards to promising commercial advanced biofuels projects, setting in motion the creation of hundreds of new jobs in construction and plant operation, and thousands more throughout the supply chain,” the trade group’s letter points out.

“In addition, DOE’s EERE and USDA’s programs continue to drive new innovations in advanced biofuels, improving and expanding feedstock options, driving down production costs, enabling new fuel molecules and delivering a host of complimentary renewable chemicals and biobased products to improve the profitability of next-generation biorefineries and further reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.”