Tom Harkin: “Madam President, we have had a long-time debate on this issue of cleaning up the environment, cutting oil imports and…”

“Madam President, we have had a long-time debate on this issue of cleaning up the environment, cutting oil imports and encouraging domestic production of clean, renewable fuels. It has been an ongoing debate here in the Congress for a number of years. I thought we had resolved this issue in the Clean Air Act of 1990, when we put a provision into the bill that required that oxygenated fuels would be used to help clean up the air in this country. The Senator from South Dakota was the sponsor of that amendment, which I cosponsored. It was supported here, overwhelmingly--69 Senators voted in favor of adding oxygenated fuels in reformulated gasoline. It was supported in the House. It is now part of the law. That provision had two effects: First to help clean up the air, and to help promote a domestic renewable fuel industry. At that time Congress anticipated that ethanol would play a role. Since that time the oil companies just have not let up. They have been trying to subvert this intent of Congress ever since.”