Political Quotes

“I rise to speak in favor of the Feinstein amendment. I am a proud cosponsor of this proposal because it will save us money, reduce food prices and do so in a responsible manner. Ethanol enjoys truly unprecedented support from the Federal Government. First there is the renewable fuels mandate that requires ethanol to be blended into gasoline. Second, there is a 45-cent-per-gallon subsidy to blend ethanol into gasoline that is costing the Treasury nearly $6 billion per year. Third, there is a 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol protecting the domestic industry from any serious competition. And to top it all off the Federal Government spends billions every year to subsidize the growth of corn for ethanol. In a time of fiscal constraint we simply cannot afford to prop up an industry with such enormous supports. And these supports are not just costing taxpayers money, but they are also causing food prices to rise and harming our environment. The USDA estimates that 40 percent of this year's corn crop will be used for ethanol. This is raising grain prices worldwide, especially hurting the needy.…”