Thomas Daschle: “I want very much to be able to continue to work on the underlying bill and find a way to resolve many of the outstanding…”

“I want very much to be able to continue to work on the underlying bill and find a way to resolve many of the outstanding issues. I think we have made some progress today. Obviously, this is a piece of legislation that provides an opportunity for many of us who have concerns about other matters relating to our Senate agenda as well. I was very concerned this morning to read in Energy Daily that the leadership has abandoned its plan to bring up the comprehensive Energy bill in May, and may wait now until fall to revisit comprehensive energy legislation. Now, nearly 6 months after we could have enacted an Energy bill with the renewable fuels standard and other important components there is no prospect now of action on the legislation any time soon. So I have no recourse but to offer the renewable fuels amendment to another legislative vehicle, which I have done with this amendment. The amendment is very straightforward. It is based on language that has passed in the Senate on two previous occasions. It eliminates the reformulated gasoline program, RFG, oxygenate standard and replaces it with a renewable fuels standard that sets a 10-year schedule for assured growth in ethanol demand. It contains the same waiver authority agreed to in the energy conference report, strikes all liability protection for MTBE as well as ethanol. It also bans MTBE within 4 years.”