Barbara Boxer: “Thank you, Mr. President. According to EPA's Blue Ribbon Panel on Oxygenates in gasoline, which include ethanol and…”

“Thank you, Mr. President. According to EPA's Blue Ribbon Panel on Oxygenates in gasoline, which include ethanol and MTBE, ethanol is extremely soluble in water and should spread if leaked into the environment at the same rate as MTBE. It may spread plumes of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene because ethanol may inhibit the breakdown of these toxic materials. Although ethanol contributes some clean air benefits, it also increases the formation of nitrogen oxides, which lead to increases in smog. So I think if you listen to the experts and you forget the special interests, you will support my amendment. We need to ask ourselves, are we in the business of letting people off the hook, people who have a responsibility for what they are putting into our gasoline, into our air, into the ground? We mandated airbags, and we did not say to those manufacturers that they should not be liable. If there is a defective product problem with an airbag, people can hold the companies responsible if it does not work or it harms them. Why would we give a free pass to ethanol? There is only one answer: special interests, powerful, powerful special interests. There is no other answer that you can come up with. If we do not learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. My amendment will eliminate the special interest liability exemption for ethanol in this amendment. It means that ethanol will not be treated any better or any worse than other fuels.…”