 |
| Five-time drag racing champion Mark Thomas
showcased his ethanol-powered drag car Wednesday at an NCGA-sponsored
event
on Capitol Hill. >From left are: Renewable Fuels Association
President Bob Dineen; Ohio Corn Marketing Program Executive
Director Mike Wagner; Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.); Mark Thomas;
Missouri corn grower Brent Rockhold; and NCGA Vice President
of Public Policy Jon Doggett. |
NCGA,
RFA and Funny Car Champ Race onto Capitol Hill with Ethanol
Message
(9-23-04)
Five-time International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Funny Car champion
Mark Thomas joined the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA),
Ohio Corn Marketing Program (OCMP) and Renewable Fuels Association
(RFA) Wednesday on Capitol Hill to challenge lawmakers to rev up
their efforts to pass important ethanol legislation.
Thomas, an Ohio corn and soybean farmer and renowned IHRA driver,
brought his ethanol-powered drag car to Washington, D.C., to promote
the environmental, economic and energy benefits of ethanol. Reps.
Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) joined numerous
national ethanol advocates at the event.
“This is the perfect setting for our important message,
and Mark Thomas’s high-performing ethanol-powered car is
the perfect prop,” said Mike Wagner, executive director of
OCMP, which helps sponsor the drag car. “Here we are directly
in front of the Capitol Building at a time when Congress has the
opportunity to pass legislation that will secure ethanol’s
role as the fuel of the future. We’re asking our lawmakers
to accelerate their efforts to take this crucial legislation across
the finish line.”
NCGA Vice President
of Public Policy Jon Doggett said the association is urging immediate
passage of a comprehensive energy bill that
includes the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and Volumetric Ethanol
Excise Tax Credit (VEETC). “VEETC and RFS would not only
benefit corn farmers and rural communities, but also would provide
a stable, domestically produced energy source and promote job growth,” he
said.
Thomas said Congress
needs to hear from people who enjoy the benefits of ethanol in
their everyday lives. “It’s important
for Congress to hear about ethanol from someone on the front line,” he
said. “I grow corn and I burn ethanol in my race car. The ‘Ethanol
Performs’ car helps spread the pro-ethanol message to race
fans across the country. Today, we used it to raise awareness of
ethanol on Capitol Hill.”