Ethanol Assault Turned Back in Senate

April 15, 2002

The Senate voted 61-36 Friday to block Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) amendment to the renewable fuels standard (RFS) provisions in the Senate's energy bill (S.517). It would have required the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to respond within 30 days to an emergency request by a state for a waiver from the ethanol requirement. The Senate's energy bill currently includes provisions that would give the EPA 240 days to consider a waiver.

RFS provisions outline that starting in 2004, 2 billion gallons of renewable fuel, such as ethanol, would be mandated in the country, increasing to 5 billion gallons by 2012. Additionally, the compromise would grant ethanol companies liability protection.

Last week, Feinstein told the Senate, "I believe that the renewable fuel provisions in this legislation amount to a wish list for the ethanol industry, and the Senate has to consider the impact of these provisions on the rest of the nation."

National Corn Growers Association President Tim Hume, a grower from Walsh, CO, said, "Defeating the Feinstein amendment is an outstanding victory for corn growers. We don't want to be dependent on foreign energy and to delay the ethanol mandate would be like giving the United States the go-ahead to do so."

John McClelland, director of NCGA's energy and analysis, said, "This vote was important because it shows that we can withstand any challenges to the RFS provisions. In fact, it demonstrates that we have enough votes to break a filibuster on the RFS provisions. This should confirm that the efforts of those opposed to these provisions are in vain."

NCGA and other ethanol industry, oil, and agricultural associations, including the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API), negotiated the RFS with Senate leaders for weeks. In early March, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) inserted the RFS into the Senate energy package in place of current language.