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NCGA Stresses Importance, Benefits of Comprehensive Energy Policy
March
8, 2002
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Gary Bradley, NCGA, 636-733-9004, ext. 139
John McClelland, NCGA, (202) 628-7001
ST.
LOUIS (March 8, 2002) --"A comprehensive energy policy is good
for the environment, good for the economy and good for America,"
Fred Yoder, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president-elect
said today at a Capitol Hill press conference where both Democrats and
Republicans rallied in support of a renewable fuel standard (RFS) in
national energy legislation.
The press conference,
moderated by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), drew Senate
participants from both parties - several of whom have just recently
come on board in support of an RFS - along with U.S. Department of Energy
Secretary Spencer Abraham.
"The bottom
line is that we need more domestic energy production as well as renewables,"
said Yoder, a corn grower from Plain City, Ohio. "An RFS will help
pave the way to meeting that bottom line."
Yoder stressed the
importance of bolstering the United States' energy independence. "The
first thing I want to make clear is that the National Corn Growers Association
is fully behind the passage of a comprehensive energy bill that addresses
ournation's serious dependence on foreign oil," he said. "We
need more domestic oil and gas and more domestic renewable fuels."
He noted that on
Tuesday, an RFS was introduced on the floor of the U.S. Senate, adding
that an RFS would represent a tripling of ethanol demand and therefore
a tripling of grain used to produce ethanol.
"If the truth
were told, this program will provide greater marketing opportunities
than the farm bill currently being debated," he concluded. "These
two reasons - energy security and maximizing market opportunities -
is why we will work to pass this energy bill."
Yoder encouraged
supporters of a renewable fuel standard to make their voices known to
their legislators by clicking on the Action Alert on the NCGA web page:
www.ncga.com.
The National Corn Growers Association mission is to create and increase
opportunities for corn growers in a changing world and to enhance corn's
profitability and usage. NCGA represents more than 32,000 members, 25
affiliated state corn grower organizations and hundreds of thousands
of growers who contribute to state checkoff programs.
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