SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
Nomination Hearing
For questions on the note below, please contact the Delta Strategy Group team.
On September 10, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to consider the nominations of Jonathan Greenstein for Deputy Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Donald Korb for Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Assistant General Counsel in the Department of the Treasury. Chairman Crapo’s (R-ID) opening statement is available here, with Ranking Member Wyden’s (D-OR) available here.
Below is a summary of the hearing prepared by Delta Strategy Group. It includes several high-level takeaways from opening statements and discussion.
Key Takeaways
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Senator Grassley (R-IA) raised how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) made several modifications to the Clean Fuels Production Credit under 45Z, set to take effect at the start of next year. He highlighted how implementing the 45Z credit properly and quickly is important for the biofuels industry and its participants, but especially for farmers. He cited how the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) regulatory agenda indicates implementation guidance may not come until May 2026 and referred to the timeline as unacceptable.
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Senator Grassley criticized how the Biden Administration failed to issue formal guidance implementing the 45Z credit despite it being in effect since the beginning of the year, and how, as a result, the biofuels industry is operating with great uncertainty as to the value and availability of the credit for 2025. He questioned Greenstein on when stakeholders will begin to see guidance implementing the 45Z credit, as he called for Treasury to provide stopgap guidance to clarify taxpayers’ eligibility to file and claim the credit for the 2025 tax year. Greenstein responded by deferring an answer to the Office of Tax Policy, and Korb stated that he will work closely with the Office of Tax Policy and Treasury to make sure that timely guidance is provided.
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Senator Marshall (R-KS) emphasized the importance of the 45Z credit to farmers, highlighting its role in enabling the conversion of U.S. corn into jet fuel, which he noted would provide both economic and environmental advantages. He asked Greenstein if he would be involved at all in writing any of the rules on tax credits within the OBBBA, with Greenstein responding that he would not be and noting it as within the Office of Tax Policy.
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Senator Cassidy (R-LA) sought assurance that the U.S. would oppose actions by international financial institutions that favor foreign competitors who subsequently dump products into the U.S. market. Greenstein acknowledged the concern and noted that while World Bank matters are not directly in his portfolio, President Trump’s America First Policy aims to address unfair practices that harm American businesses.
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Ranking Member Wyden (D-OR) outlined how he is troubled by President Trump’s trade and economic policy. He raised concerns from farmers about how prices are down while input costs are up, and that they have absolutely no predictability and no certainty about what is going on. He criticized how the administration’s policies are why trading partners cannot trust President Trump or his advisers, and that it is not the way to run an economy.