NCGA
Calls Next Steps Critical as Energy Conferees are Appointed (7-15-05)
The
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) called appointment of House
energy bill conferees yesterday another critical step toward securing
a comprehensive energy bill that includes the use of domestic renewable
fuels for the United States.
Joe Barton
(D-Texas), House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, will chair
the conference committee, which held its first meeting on Thursday.
It is possible the conferees could finish work on the conference
report before Congress adjourns for its August break, but the schedule
is likely to slip into the fall.
“We are
very pleased the House has named their conferees so the energy discussions
between the House and Senate will move forward,” said Leon
Corzine, NCGA president. “Our organization is committed to
finishing an energy bill this summer, and we are working with the
conferees to reach that end.”
Corzine said
the record high prices of gasoline, which now average $2.33 a gallon,
and oil, which is about $60 a barrel, are indicators of the critical
need for an energy policy.
“These
prices give the nation’s consumers reason to be outraged,”
Corzine said. “Every day that we delay in getting an energy
policy, we bleed money, risk security and our economic stability.
It is critical we move our country forward reducing our dependence
on foreign oil and replacing it with domestically grown renewable
fuels such as ethanol. An energy bill that includes an 8-billion-gallon
renewable fuels standard (RFS) will do just that.”
Prior to the
appointment of conferees, the House struck down a motion by a vote
of 217 201 to 201 by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) to instruct conferees
to remove from H.R. 6 a controversial provision that would grant
MTBE a liability waiver. The MTBE waiver would retroactively
prohibit a number of defective product lawsuits filed by several
northeastern states and California. The House energy bill, approved
in April, includes an MTBE liability waiver; the Senate bill does
not.
NCGA is continuing
the push for an 8-billion-gallon RFS as part of the energy bill
and is encouraging all growers to make visits and call their legislators
to push them to support the 8-billion-gallon RFS. Corzine noted
this week nearly 200 growers have walked the halls of both chambers
to promote an energy bill with an 8-billion-gallon RFS.
For a complete
list of the House-Senate conferees, click here.