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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE: July 26, 2005
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CONTACTS:
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Mimi
Ricketts, NCGA, 636-733-9004, Ext. 112 |
NCGA Hails
Energy Conference for Setting Renewable Fuels Standard at 7.5 Billion
Gallons
ST. LOUIS (July
26, 2005) -- The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President
Leon Corzine today called the House-Senate energy conference committee
inclusion of a 7.5-billion-gallon Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in
its final report the most significant step yet in securing the use of
domestically produced fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.
The report gives
the nod to 7.5-billion gallons of ethanol production by 2012. The RFS
will begin at 4 billion gallons in 2006, increasing to 7.5 billion gallons
by 2012. NCGA has advocated environmentally friendly ethanol as a means
of decreasing the nation’s dangerous dependence on foreign energy
sources, reducing greenhouse gases and aiding in reducing gasoline prices.
“Conference
chairmen Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), and ranking
members Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.)
are to be commended for the extraordinary time, energy and thoughtfulness
they put into this final conference report over the last few weeks,”
said Corzine. “Their work has been second to none, and corn growers
are grateful for their leadership and respectful of the difficult decisions
and compromises they have made.”
The ethanol industry
is one of the most successful and fastest growing value-added markets
for farmers, he said. “The RFS included in the final conference
report is a 50 percent increase over where we were last year,”
Corzine said. “A 7.5 billion gallon RFS gives our ethanol industry
and our producers the assurance of continued growth in the industry.
The real winners in the expanded use of renewable fuels in our energy
supply are the U.S. consumer and the nation as a whole. It is a win
for our national security, it is a win for our environment and it is
a win for the economic viability of our Rural America and our nation.”
The conference report
also includes a 12-month credit trading program, cellulosic ethanol
provisions and boutique fuels provisions.
The report now moves
to full the House and Senate where votes are expected later this week.
# # #
The National Corn Growers Association’s mission is to create and
increase opportunities for corn growers. NCGA represents nearly 33,000
members, 45 affiliated state organizations and hundreds of thousands
of growers who contribute to state checkoff programs. For more information,
log on to www.ncga.com.
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