Thune Warns of Ethanol Fight
South Dakota Senator John Thune says Senate leaders want to pass an energy bill by the Fourth of July… but warned a group of about 100 people this week at the Ethanol Public Policy Summit in Sioux Falls that conflict looms on the horizon.
This story in the Argus (SD) Leader says some powerful opponents are against some key provisions in this year’s bill:
Some lawmakers oppose extending the tariff on foreign ethanol and allowing fuel blends with more ethanol, both of which Thune supports.
Perhaps the greatest risk is that more controversial provisions will sink the overall bill.
Thune said the auto industry is the major opponent to 20 percent ethanol and other blends, which are necessary to ensure market growth.
“They’re kind of clinging to a past in terms of energy and fuels, and the ones that are smart, in my view, are going to start looking toward the future,” he said.
Thune admits some of his fellow Republicans are also some his biggest opponents. But he says this country will have to step it up to bring our renewable energy output up to the 36-billion-gallon-a-year level by 2022.
1 Comment »
Sarah Press
Globalization can be good for the environment if the government doesn’t get in the way.
Protectionist policies are hurting consumers and the environment. The subsidies and tariffs placed on ethanol prevent Americans from buying cheap, efficient and green ethanol from Brazil. Scientific studies have undeniably shown sugarcane, switchgrass and soybeans to be more efficient sources of renewable fuel than corn. The corn growers have such a firm hold of the market and their legislators however, that US consumers are not being afforded all of the choices of the real fuel market. These policies benefit large corporate farms not American consumers. For more check out: http://www.cwt.org/blog/
Feel free to comment and debate.
Comments RSS feed — TrackBack URI
Leave a Comment