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NCGA
Continues its Long March Toward Achieving a Renewable Fuels Standard
(8-29-01)
When
Congress reconvenes Sept. 5, corn growers and other advocates for ethanol
can look back with satisfaction on several recent big "wins."
For
example, the current administration denied California's request for
a waiver from the federal RFG oxygen requirement, and the previous administration
declined to act on that request. In the House of Representatives, the
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) secured 300 votes to decisively
defeat the Waxman amendment, which would have exempted California from
the oxygen requirement.
Before
the House floor vote, Waxman lost a House Energy Committee vote by another
telling margin-33 to 22. In late July, the House did pass phase one
of an energy bill, preserving the oxygen requirement.
"Looking
forward, NCGA wants to build on theses successes by proactively seeking
incorporation of a renewable fuels standard into the energy bill that
is eventually signed into law," said NCGA Vice President of Public
Policy Bruce Knight. "This fall, NCGA will focus on the Senate's
Energy Committee and the Environment & Public Works Committee. In
the Energy Committee, NCGA will work on getting the Hagel-Johnson bill
(S. 1006) added to the energy bill coming out of this committee. (Hagel-Johnson
sets standards for ethanol comprising 3 percent of highway fuels by
2011 and 5 percent 2016, mandating tremendous growth in demand for ethanol.)"
But
working with the Environment & Public Works Committee could prove
difficult, said NCGA Director of Energy and Analysis John McClelland,
noting that a bill introduced by Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) that may be marked
up in that committee bans MTBE and eliminates the oxygenate requirement,
but currently does not include a renewable fuels provision.
"The
concern is that if such a bill reaches the floor of the Senate, it could
prompt a floor fight - a prospect that is fraught with danger for ethanol,"
McClelland said. "Both the House and Senate could address the issue
of boutique fuels, which could have ramifications for the oxygen requirement
and ethanol."
Despite
these potential challenges, McClelland's message for corn growers is
that "the series of victories we have achieved occurred in part
to the technical data we've submitted as well as the power of grassroots
advocacy practiced by our growers.
"NCGA's
Ethanol Task Force developed a six-point plan for achieving a renewable
fuels requirement. We've enjoyed a series of victories, and our success
is due to the help we have received from the states and the grassroots
growers. It's worked in the past, and we will need that level of commitment
again."
More
information on NCGA and ethanol is available on the NCGA web site: http://www.ncga.com/ethanol/main/index.htm.
Last
reviewed August 29, 2001
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