I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8879 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide credits for the 

production of renewable chemicals and investments in renewable chemical 

production facilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 4, 2020 

Mr. PASCRELL (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 

credits for the production of renewable chemicals and 

investments in renewable chemical production facilities, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Renewable Chemicals 

5 Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CREDITS FOR PRODUCTION OF RENEWABLE CHEMI2 CALS AND INVESTMENTS IN RENEWABLE 

3 CHEMICAL PRODUCTION FACILITIES. 

4 (a) PRODUCTION OF RENEWABLE CHEMICALS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of 

6 subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue 

7 Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 45U. CREDIT FOR PRODUCTION OF RENEWABLE 

10 CHEMICALS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 

12 production credit for renewable chemicals for any taxable 

13 year is an amount (determined separately for each renew14 able chemical) equal to— 

15 ‘‘(1) 15 percent of the sales price of each pound 

16 of a renewable chemical— 

17 ‘‘(A) produced— 

18 ‘‘(i) by the taxpayer, or 

19 ‘‘(ii) for the taxpayer by a contract 

20 manufacturer under a binding written 

21 agreement, and 

22 ‘‘(B) sold for its fair market value at retail 

23 by the taxpayer during the taxable year, re24 duced by 


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1 ‘‘(2) a percentage equal to so much of the per2 centage of the renewable chemical as is not biobased 

3 content. 

4 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The amount of the credit deter5 mined under subsection (a) with respect to a renewable 

6 chemical sold during any taxable year shall not exceed the 

7 credit amount allocated for purposes of this section by the 

8 Secretary to the taxpayer with respect to such chemical 

9 for such taxable year under section 48E. 

10 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) RENEWABLE CHEMICAL.—The term ‘re12 newable chemical’ means any chemical which— 

13 ‘‘(A) is produced in the United States (or 

14 in a territory or possession of the United 

15 States) from renewable biomass, 

16 ‘‘(B) is not less than 95 percent biobased 

17 content, 

18 ‘‘(C) is not sold or used for the production 

19 of any food, feed, fuel, or pharmaceuticals, 

20 ‘‘(D) is approved to use the USDA Cer21 tified Biobased Product label under section 

22 9002(b) of the Farm Security and Rural In23 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8102(b)), and 

24 ‘‘(E) is a chemical intermediate (as such 

25 term is defined in section 3201.109 of title 7, 


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1 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu2 lations)). 

3 ‘‘(2) BIOBASED CONTENT.—The term ‘biobased 

4 content’ means, with respect to any renewable chem5 ical, the biobased content of the total mass of or6 ganic carbon in such chemical (expressed as a per7 centage), determined by testing representative sam8 ples using the American Society for Testing and Ma9 terials (ASTM) D6866. 

10 ‘‘(3) RENEWABLE BIOMASS.—The term ‘renew11 able biomass’ has the meaning given such term in 

12 section 9001(13) of the Farm Security and Rural 

13 Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101(13)). 

14 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL LIMITATION ON CREDITS FOR RE15 NEWABLE CHEMICALS.—See section 48E(e) for rules re16 lating to national limitation on credits under this section. 

17 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH INVESTMENT CREDIT FOR

18 RENEWABLE CHEMICAL PRODUCTION FACILITIES.—See 

19 section 48E(f) for rules coordinating section 48E with this 

20 section. 

21 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION.—Notwithstanding any other pro22 vision of this section or section 48E, the Secretary may 

23 not allocate any credit amount under this section to any 

24 taxable year which begins more than 5 years after the date 

25 of the enactment of this section.’’. 


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1 (2) CREDIT TO BE PART OF GENERAL BUSI2 NESS CREDIT.—Subsection (b) of section 38 of such 

3 Code is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of 

4 paragraph (32), by striking the period at the end of 

5 paragraph (33) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by add6 ing at the end the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(34) the renewable chemicals production credit 

8 determined under section 45U(a).’’. 

9 (b) INVESTMENT CREDIT IN LIEU OF PRODUCTION

10 CREDIT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 46 of the Internal 

12 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ 

13 at the end of paragraph (5), by striking the period 

14 at the end of paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, 

15 and by adding at the end the following new para16 graph: 

17 ‘‘(7) the renewable chemical production facili18 ties credit.’’. 

19 (2) RENEWABLE CHEMICAL PRODUCTION FA20 CILITIES CREDIT.—Subpart E of part IV of sub21 chapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by 

22 inserting after section 48D the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 48E. INVESTMENT CREDIT FOR RENEWABLE CHEM2 ICAL PRODUCTION FACILITIES. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 46, the 

4 renewable chemical production facilities credit for any tax5 able year is an amount equal to 30 percent of the basis 

6 of any eligible property which is a part of a renewable 

7 chemical production facility placed in service by the tax8 payer during such taxable year. 

9 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The amount of the credit deter10 mined under subsection (a) with respect to a renewable 

11 chemical production facility of the taxpayer during any 

12 taxable year shall not exceed the credit amount allocated 

13 for purposes of this section by the Secretary to the tax14 payer for such taxable year under subsection (e). 

15 ‘‘(c) RENEWABLE CHEMICAL PRODUCTION FACIL16 ITY.—For purposes of this section— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘renewable chem18 ical production facility’ means a facility— 

19 ‘‘(A) which is owned by the taxpayer, 

20 ‘‘(B) which is originally placed in service 

21 after the date of the enactment of this section 

22 and before the first day of the taxable year 

23 which begins 6 years after the date of the en24 actment of this section, 

25 ‘‘(C) with respect to which— 


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1 ‘‘(i) no credit has been allowed under 

2 section 45U for chemicals produced at 

3 such facility in any previous taxable year, 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the taxpayer makes an irrev6 ocable election to have this section apply, 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(D) which is primarily used to produce 

9 renewable chemicals. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE PROPERTY.—The term ‘eligible 

11 property’ means any property— 

12 ‘‘(A) which is— 

13 ‘‘(i) tangible personal property, or 

14 ‘‘(ii) other tangible property (not in15 cluding a building or its structural compo16 nents), 

17 but only if such property is used as an integral 

18 part of the renewable chemical production facil19 ity, and 

20 ‘‘(B) with respect to which depreciation (or 

21 amortization in lieu of depreciation) is allow22 able. 

23 ‘‘(3) RENEWABLE CHEMICAL.—The term ‘re24 newable chemical’ has the meaning given such term 

25 by section 45U(c)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(d) CERTAIN QUALIFIED PROGRESS EXPENDI2 TURES RULES MADE APPLICABLE.—Rules similar to the 

3 rules of subsections (c)(4) and (d) of section 46 (as in 

4 effect on the day before the enactment of the Revenue 

5 Reconciliation Act of 1990) shall apply for purposes of 

6 this section. 

7 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL LIMITATION ON CREDITS FOR RE8 NEWABLE CHEMICALS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

11 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Ag12 riculture, shall establish a program to allocate credit 

13 amounts under this section and section 45U to tax14 payers who produce renewable chemicals for taxable 

15 years ending after the date of the enactment of this 

16 section. 

17 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) AGGREGATE LIMITATION.—The total 

19 amount of credits that may be allocated under 

20 such program shall not exceed $500,000,000. 

21 ‘‘(B) TAXPAYER LIMITATION.—The 

22 amount of credits that may be allocated to any 

23 taxpayer under such program shall not exceed 

24 $125,000,000. For purposes of the preceding 

25 sentence, all persons treated as a single emVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8879.IH H8879

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1 ployer under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52, 

2 or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414, shall be 

3 treated as one taxpayer. 

4 ‘‘(3) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In determining to 

5 which taxpayers to make allocations of the credit 

6 amount under such program, the Secretary shall 

7 take into consideration— 

8 ‘‘(A) the number of jobs created and main9 tained (directly and indirectly) in the United 

10 States (including territories and possessions of 

11 the United States) as a result of such allocation 

12 during the credit period and thereafter, 

13 ‘‘(B) the degree to which the production of 

14 the renewable chemical demonstrates reduced 

15 dependence on imported feedstocks, petroleum, 

16 non-renewable resources, or other fossil fuels, 

17 ‘‘(C) the technological innovation involved 

18 in the production method of the renewable 

19 chemical, 

20 ‘‘(D) the energy efficiency and reduction in 

21 lifecycle greenhouse gases of the renewable 

22 chemical or of the production method of the re23 newable chemical, 

24 ‘‘(E) whether there is a reasonable expec25 tation of commercial viability, 


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1 ‘‘(F) whether the renewable chemical has 

2 an established market, and 

3 ‘‘(G) whether the renewable chemical is 

4 currently being produced in commercial quan5 tities. 

6 ‘‘(4) REVIEW AND REALLOCATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) REVIEW.—Not later than 6 years 

8 after the date of the enactment of this section, 

9 the Secretary shall review the credits allocated 

10 under this section. 

11 ‘‘(B) REALLOCATION.—If the Secretary 

12 determines that unused credits are available for 

13 reallocation after the review described in sub14 paragraph (A), the Secretary is authorized to 

15 conduct an additional program for applications 

16 for certification. 

17 ‘‘(5) DISCLOSURE OF ALLOCATIONS.—The Sec18 retary shall, upon making an allocation of credit 

19 amount under this section, publicly disclose the iden20 tity of the taxpayer and the amount of the credit 

21 with respect to such taxpayer. 

22 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION WITH PRODUCTION CREDIT FOR

23 RENEWABLE CHEMICALS.—If a taxpayer makes an elec24 tion under subsection (c)(1)(C)(ii) with respect to a renew25 able chemical production facility, a credit shall not be alVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8879.IH H8879

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1 lowed under section 45U for any renewable chemical pro2 duced by such facility. 

3 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue such 

4 regulations or other guidance as may be necessary to carry 

5 out this section and section 45U. 

6 ‘‘(h) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may not allocate 

7 any credit amount under this section to any taxable year 

8 which begins more than 5 years after the date of the en9 actment of this section.’’. 

10 (c) CREDITS ALLOWABLE AGAINST ALTERNATIVE

11 MINIMUM TAX.—Subparagraph (B) of section 38(c)(4) of 

12 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redesig13 nating clauses (vii) through (ix) as clauses (ix) through 

14 (xi), respectively, and by inserting after clause (vi) the fol15 lowing new clauses: 

16 ‘‘(vii) the credit determined under sec17 tion 45U, 

18 ‘‘(viii) the credit determined under 

19 section 46 to the extent that such credit is 

20 attributable to the renewable chemical pro21 duction facilities credit under section 

22 48E,’’. 

23 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (1) The table of sections for subpart D of part 

25 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal RevVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8879.IH H8879

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1 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

2 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45U. Credit for production of renewable chemicals.’’. 

3 (2) The table of sections for subpart E of part 

4 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following new 

6 item: 

‘‘Sec. 48E. Investment credit for renewable chemical production facilities.’’. 

7 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply to renewable chemicals produced 

9 and renewable chemical production facilities placed in 

10 service after the date of the enactment of this Act, in tax11 able years ending after such date. 

Æ 


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