Bill Clinton: “You know, if I might say, when that whole energy tax issue was being debated, we recommended that ethanol be exempt. And…”

“You know, if I might say, when that whole energy tax issue was being debated, we recommended that ethanol be exempt. And then we had an alternative that was effectively going to just take the tax out of the production sector, out of agriculture and industry altogether. But the Senate decided that rather than do that, they'd go to some more broad-based fuel tax. But if they do it in a way that's consistent with State law, it will still be okay for the farmers, I think. [Secretary Espy noted that during the budget process the administration had supported an exemption for ethanol production in the energy tax.]”