Politicians from throughout the Corn Belt are objecting to the changes the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to ethanol policy. If enacted, the mandate for ethanol would be about a billion gallons lower than expected for 2014. Harvest Public Media’s Amy Mayer has this report.
(SCRIPT)
The EPA’s draft proposal of changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard has drawn criticism from farm state Democrats and Republicans alike. Iowa Republican lieutenant governor Kim Reynolds says ethanol has created jobs and boosted rural economies across Iowa and the Midwest. Cutting support for the industry she says would threaten that progress.
(Reynolds) "So our goal now is to stand up and prevent the EPA from moving forward with this damaging proposal.”
Across the region other politicians have also lined up behind the ethanol industry, including Nebraska Republican Adrian Smith and Illinois Democrat Cheri Bustos. On the other side, the petroleum industry and some meat producer groups cautiously welcomed the proposal and urge further cuts to government support for corn-based fuels. I’m Amy Mayer, Harvest Public Media.