This guest blog was written by Shawnee Hoover, policy advisor, Oxfam America.
After a long, hard-fought battle, the $6 billion tax break for corn ethanol known as VEETC (or the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit), has lapsed after Congress passed on extending it. And as a result, a collective sigh of relief may be heard around the world by hunger advocates, as one burden is lifted on high food prices and hunger.
In Washington, the ethanol industry is spinning the loss as a win, claiming they voluntarily gave up the tax credit for the good of the nation. The ethanol industry’s most prominent representative, Bob Dinneen of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), spun the defeat by claiming to be “the first industry ever to give up a tax credit” saying their “sacrifice” came willingly for the “greater good.” The truth is that the industry fought tooth and nail for every last dollar right up to the end in 2011.
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