Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley opposes a bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate that would remove the implied conventional biofuel blending requirement from the Renewable Fuel Standard.
The ?Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act? was introduced by Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein of California and Bob Menendez of New Jersey, along with Republican Senators Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Susan Collins of Maine. During his weekly conference call with farm reporters Tuesday morning, Grassley said the bill has a poor outlook in the Senate.
?It?s got no chance of passing,? said Grassley. ?Pretty simple as far as I?m concerned. What bothers me about it ? I don?t know to what extent Big Oil is behind it ? but I think Big Oil obviously doesn?t like the competition from ethanol and biofuels generally. I think that you would have to say those people that are proposing that bill don?t realize the history of the Renewable Fuel Standard.?
While the bill?s context states it would ?help reduce carbon emissions from transportation fuels by removing the volume requirements for corn ethanol,? National Corn Growers Association President John Linder says the legislation would actually increase harmful emissions and use of fossil fuels in the country.
?This is really strange,? said Linder, ?because we are in a landscape where everyone is concerned about the environment and talking about climate change and sustainability, and then here we have a few individuals that want to put legislation out there that is so counterintuitive. It throws the baby out with the bath water because ethanol is here today doing a great job of delivering value to the consumer and the economics, but also to the environment and environmental benefits.?
Linder added that the ?Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act? is ill conceived and would have a devastating impact on air quality.
