Courtney backs further R&D tax credits, The Day

Courtney backs further R&D tax credits

Patricia Daddona

The Day

9/9/08

Mystic — U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, who toured the Monsanto research labs here Monday, said he will work toward extending this nation's research and development tax credits.

As he talked with molecular scientists at the Monsanto research facility, Courtney called the firm's work to genetically transform corn plants to resist herbicides, drought or insects “miraculous.”

The Mystic R&D labs' Steven Reiser said the St. Louis-based Monsanto focuses on plant breeding, biotechnology and crop protection. In Mystic, researchers and scientists are working on biotechnology aimed at developing drought-tolerant corn, which could help double yields by 2030, he said.

Scientists in various departments walked Courtney through the journey of bacterium used to transfer DNA to plant embryos, the cloning and insertion of genes into plants, and the tracking of successfully functioning genes in plant varieties.

The entire process can take up to eight years, Reiser said.

Tax credits already in place allow companies such as Monsanto to write off costs for long-term research investments, but they are set to expire and need to be renewed, Courtney said.

He told Monsanto officials that he and another lawmaker signed a letter in April backed by more than 80 colleagues urging the House Speaker to consider a bill, the Investment in America Act of 2007, which includes the tax credit renewal.

“It's not just a Monsanto issue,” Courtney said after the tour. “Pfizer is following this like a box score, and (the future of the bill) is very tied to the politics of how to pay for these things.”

There is widespread support for the legislation but concern about the country's mammoth deficit and how to fund the tax credits, he said.

Courtney hopes the entire bill will be brought up and backed within the next three weeks. Under a possible continuing budget resolution, the tax credits now in place would likely still stand, he said.

In a statement, Monsanto said it supports the extension of the R&D tax credit.

“We invest $2 million a day in developing agricultural solutions that will help farmers produce the food, fiber and energy needed by a growing world. Federal tax incentives that encourage growth in such investment help create good paying jobs for high-tech employees here in the U.S.,” the company stated.

Courtney also praised Monsanto for working with the DNA EpiCenter, which has applied for a grant on how to teach students about biotechnology, genes and genomes, saying it is important to connect students to science skills.