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For
Immediate Release Contact: Betsy Hart
June 06, 2008 (202) 226-8555
Herseth
Sandlin Leads Bipartisan Effort to Preserve Renewable Fuels Standard
Congresswoman’s Letter Urges EPA Administrator Johnson to deny requests
to waive or weaken the historic RFS
June 6, 2008, Washington D.C.-
This week, a bipartisan coalition led by Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
(D-SD) and Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) sent a letter to Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Stephen Johnson urging him
to preserve the historic Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) enacted in last
year’s Energy Bill by refusing to grant any requests to waive or halt
the RFS. The full text of the letter, which is signed by 32 Republican
and Democratic Members of Congress, can be found below.
Texas Governor Rick Perry recently requested a 50% waiver from the EPA,
while Connecticut requested a similar release from the RFS requirements
from the Administration and Congress. The fifty percent waiver sought
by Texas would mean removing 4.5 billion gallons of ethanol from the
market and increasing gasoline prices up to one year by up to 31 percent,
according to one recent analysis. With Americans already suffering record
gas prices at the pump, pushing the price up further makes no sense
at all in the short-term.
“Now is not the time to doubt or decrease our commitment to renewable
fuels. Just the opposite is true – we need to let this law work, and
build a bridge to advanced biofuels that will change this country’s
energy economy and energy security,” said Herseth Sandin. “An appropriately
aggressive RFS will ensure that biofuels continue to play an important
role in diversifying our nation’s energy portfolio and reducing our
dependence on foreign oil.”
Joining Herseth Sandlin and Shimkus on the letter were 30 Members of
Congress representing diverse constituencies from various regions of
the country including: Rep. Delahunt (D-MA), Rep. Loebsack (D-IA), Rep.
Dennis Moore (D-KS), Rep. Braley (D-IA), Rep. Hare (D-IA), Rep. Costello
(D-IL), Rep. Boswell (D-IA), Rep. Weller (R-IL), Rep. Hulshof (R-MO),
Rep. Graves (R-MO), Rep. Tim Johnson (R-IL), Rep. Latham (R-IA), Rep.
Boyda (D-KS), Rep. Mahoney (D-FL), Rep. Pomeroy (D-ND), Rep. Steve King
(R-IA), Rep. Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Kagen (D-WI), Rep. Walz (D-MN), Rep.
LaHood (R-IL), Rep. Donnelly (D-IN), Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), Rep.
Perlmutter (D-CO), Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) , Rep. Ellsworth (D-IN),
Rep. Salazar (D-CO), Rep. Emerson (R-MO), Manzullo (R-IL), Souder (R-IN),
Rep. Baldwin (D-WI).
Leading advocacy organizations have signaled their support for the work
of Rep. Herseth Sandlin and Rep. Shimkus to preserve the RFS and the
letter sent to the EPA.
"Waiving or halting
the Renewable Fuels Standard would lead to higher gas prices and have
little to no effect on rising food costs. Those who suggest that the
ethanol industry is to blame for rising food prices have failed to recognize
that the corn used for ethanol is not the same product we consume in
our daily diets. Quite simply, the food versus fuel debate is not based
on the facts. I would like to thank Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin and
Congressman Shimkus, along with the other members of Congress, for today's
action and their efforts to set the record straight," National
Farmers Union President Tom Buis said.
“As oil price sets
yet a new record high and gasoline soars over $4 a gallon all across
the country, this letter is more important now than ever. In the face
of record high prices for gasoline, any effort to suspend or repeal
even part of the Renewable Fuels Standard would only result in hundreds
of millions of Americans having to pay a great deal more at the pump.
All of the crises facing the world today have a common denominator –
the ever-rising price of an ever-depleting supply of oil. Biofuels like
ethanol offer an immediate step forward to wean this nation off its
reliance on petroleum. I applaud the foresight and determination of
the members of Congress who understand the importance of biofuels to
our nation’s future and join with them in urging EPA to reject any repeal
or waiver request,” said President of the Renewable Fuels Association
Bob Dinneen.
“The National Corn
Growers Association strongly opposes any effort to halt or waive the
renewable fuels standard as it is unlikely to lower grain or food prices,”
said NCGA President Ron Litterer. “Waiving the RFS would likely result
in higher—not lower— fuel prices for the nation’s drivers.”
The Honorable Stephen L.
Johnson
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20460-2403
Dear Administrator Johnson,
We are writing to express our strong opposition to any requests to waive
or halt the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). We believe the RFS is a
critical part of domestic energy policy, and strongly dispute the notion
that the federal biofuels standard included in the Energy Independence
and Security Act of 2007 is causing adverse economic impacts or is responsible
for rising food costs around the globe.
A careful look at the facts reveals that American agricultural producers
can and will meet our domestic and international commitments for food
and feed and still make a significant and growing contribution to lessening
our dependence on imported oil with homegrown, American-made renewable
fuels.
The harsh criticism biofuels have received recently in connection with
the rise in food prices is unwarranted. If we look at the facts, several
other factors are central to higher food prices: record oil prices,
soaring global demand for commodities from oil to grains, poor weather
conditions, a weak U.S. dollar, and restrictive agricultural policies
around the world. In fact, a recent study by Texas A&M University
noted, “The underlying force driving changes in the agriculture industry,
along with the economy as a whole, is overall higher energy costs, evidenced
by $100 per barrel oil.”
With the price of oil hovering at record levels around $125 per barrel,
and Goldman Sachs forecasting a price of $141 per barrel later this
year, biofuels are helping to give consumers some relief. Using biofuels
in the U.S. transportation fuel market helps lower gasoline prices by
expanding gasoline supplies and reducing the need for importing expensive,
high-octane, petroleum-based gasoline components or more crude oil from
unstable parts of the world. A Merrill Lynch analyst recently estimated
that oil prices would be 15 percent higher without the expansion of
biofuel production.
As you know, two governors have sought a waiver of the RFS. Yet, the
fifty percent waiver sought by Texas would mean removing 4.5 billion
gallons of ethanol from the market and increasing gasoline prices up
to one year by up to 31 percent, according to one recent analysis. With
Americans already suffering record gas prices at the pump, pushing the
price up further makes no sense at all in the short-term.
Just as importantly, in the long-term, the RFS is absolutely fundamental
to spurring the development of advanced biofuels, such as cellulosic
ethanol and biomass-based biodiesel. Continued support of today’s U.S.
biofuels industry and continued commitment to the new RFS will truly
be a catalyst for new technologies, new breakthroughs, and will make
a vitally important contribution to increasing energy independence for
our nation.
By growing demand for domestically produced renewable fuels, including
next generation advanced biofuels, we can continue the vital work necessary
to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and leave a more stable and
sustainable future for future generations of Americans. Biofuels are
already helping to reduce the carbon footprint. These environmental
benefits will only increase as new technologies, new feedstocks and
new markets for renewable fuels are fostered.
Critics of biofuels have also failed to recognize the advances that
the agricultural and biofuels producers have made to meet existing demand
in the most efficient and environmentally sound manner. Technological
advances have also enabled American farmers to boost agricultural productivity
to meet demands, including rising global demands.
We believe the new RFS enacted in 2007 strengthens our energy security
and will further diversify our nation’s fuel supply in an era of global
volatility and demand for energy. The RFS is doing exactly what it was
designed to do. It is providing essential support for efforts to supply
the United States with a clean-burning, renewable fuel that is cutting
oil imports and keeping gasoline and oil prices lower than they otherwise
would be.
Reducing or waiving the RFS at this point would only play into the hands
of OPEC, which is intent on keeping supplies tight and prices high,
to the detriment of importing nations, their economies, and our constituents.
Accordingly, we urge you continue the Administration’s support for the
RFS and deny any waiver requests.
Sincerely,
Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin serves South Dakota in the
U.S. House of Representatives. She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition,
a group of moderate Democrats committed to fiscal discipline and strong
national security, and is co-chair of the Rural Working Group, which
is dedicated to raising the profile of issues important to rural America.
She also serves on three committees vital to South Dakota’s interests:
Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs and Natural Resources. In the 110th Congress,
Rep. Herseth Sandlin was one of only 15 members appointed to serve on
the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
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