Vote NO on a backdoor expansion of the ethanol mandate
Advocates of government-dictated ethanol are trying to circumvent House procedures to sneak an expanded ethanol mandate into the Farm Bill. The House Rules Committee should not allow this.
On Monday, the House Rules Committee decides whether to allow two E15 amendments onto the House floor as part of the forthcoming Farm Bill.
The Sorensen amendment expands government-dictated ethanol by exempting E15 from air quality limits that currently restrain the ethanol mandate.
The Fischbach amendment does the same thing AND it also punishes small refiners by making it much harder for small refineries to obtain exemptions from the mandate.
The House Rules Committee should block both amendments for two reasons:
1) Moral: The amendments entrench and expand the destructive and immoral ethanol mandate, which no one seriously supports on its merits.
2) Procedural: The amendments have nothing to do with farming policy and instead change air quality law, so they should be disqualified as “non-germane” per the Committee’s own rules.
For more on why to oppose government-dictated ethanol, read this:
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Ethanol from corn as an energy source - what a story! When the energy used to make ethanol is subtracted from the energy produced there is little if any energy left - see its EROI. It’s also not about the environment, for every lb of ethanol produced a lb of carbon dioxide is generated. And thanks to IRS section 45Q taxpayers are on the hook to sequester the carbon dioxide. Incredible!
Politics created this story, and well, that’s just what politicians do. There must be multiple beneficiaries besides corn farmers that drive this bizarre energy story, because the politicians aren’t about to stop promoting it.
The Ethanol mandate is a sad carve out for the midwestern farm lobby. If they were truly wanting the best for this country we would put our efforts behind productive food crops that do not require an expensive and wasteful conversion into biofuels. Not to mention the water needed for this uneconomical conversion.