Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s Weekly Column: June 24, 2016
The Ethanol Mandate Has Failed | By Congressman Bob Goodlatte
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Washington, DC (June 24, 2016) -
Families are gassing up the car to head out of town, fueling up the boat for a weekend at the lake, and getting out the mower to tackle the lawn. But do you know the impact ethanol has on all of these activities? According to the Department of Energy, ethanol contains about one-third less energy than gasoline, meaning the more ethanol in your fuel, the less mileage a tank of gas will get you. Plus, ethanol has been found to damage or corrode many small engines found in power equipment, motorcycles, or boats. The result? More trips to the gas station and a greater strain on your wallet.
The federal ethanol mandate, or Renewable Fuel Standard, requires that 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels be part of our nation’s fuel supply by 2022, whether we need it or not. A majority of this is being fulfilled by ethanol made from corn, diverting food and feed stocks to energy production. In recent years, we’ve seen the real world effects of this policy with volatile feed prices for livestock, higher costs for restaurants, lower fuel efficiency, and engine damage. The ethanol mandate has proven itself unworkable with the negative impacts on Virginia’s economy far outweighing intended benefits.
Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s most recent proposal, more and more ethanol will be forced into the fuel supply in the next few years – beyond the E10 gasoline most of us use today and what our current infrastructure and many small engines can handle. It’s clear that Congress must fix this broken policy. That’s why I’ve introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to eliminate the ethanol mandate altogether. As we work to build support for eliminating the mandate, I’ve also introduced bipartisan legislation to make significant reforms to it, including capping the amount of ethanol in the fuel supply at 10 percent and eliminating corn-based ethanol requirements.
Few issues have such broad and diverse support, and I’m encouraged that my bipartisan legislation continues to gain momentum. In fact, the public also recognizes corn ethanol’s failings. A national poll found 67 percent of voters favor reducing the amount of corn ethanol required by law. Additionally, as more lawmakers realize growing problems, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a long-awaited hearing a few days ago to further examine issues with the ethanol mandate.
Renewable fuels can have an important place in our economy when consumers want and need them, and they are part of an all-of-the-above energy solution. However, the ethanol mandate is having drastic impacts on family budgets from the kitchen table to the gas pump as well as small businesses and retailers, the agriculture community, and the environment. It’s absolutely clear – in no uncertain terms – that Washington’s ethanol mandate has failed by every metric. American families and our economy have shouldered the costs of the failed ethanol mandate for far too long – isn’t it time to fix this unworkable policy? | | | | | |
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