WASHINGTON, DC – With dire news reports out of Libya sending skittish oil markets higher and higher, and predictions that Americans will face $5 a gallon gasoline, representatives of the U.S. ethanol industry warned that Congressional maneuvers to block already-approved levels of ethanol from reaching the market would only worsen the impact of high fuel prices.
“Our economic recovery is fragile. Many Americans are still looking for work, and are living close to the edge. Yet some in Congress would have us continue a policy that would keep us addicted to foreign oil – even as political upheaval in the Mid East and North Africa push gas prices up to prediction of $5 a gallon,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy.
“This is no time for Congress to block the only commercially-viable alternative we have to foreign oil – American ethanol. Action to block E15 and block the installation of blender pumps is the wrong move at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. If the goal of this amendment was to keep our nation addicted to foreign oil then that goal has been achieved,” Buis said.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted legislation that would inhibit the movement of American-made ethanol into the U.S. fuels market. These hurried amendments came with little debate late in the evening, and were in direct contradiction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s comprehensive study and eventual approval of E15.
“The Growth Energy Green Jobs Waiver for E15 went through the most exhaustive study and testing in the history of EPA,” Buis said. “The House amendments have no place in law. We are urging the Senate to oppose any similar efforts when they take up the spending bill on their return.”
Growth Energy’s Green Jobs Waiver for E15 was approved by EPA for all vehicles built in the last decade, about 151 million vehicles, or about 62 percent of the vehicle fleet, which consume about 75 percent of all motor fuel in the U.S.
If the nation were to fully adopt E15, it would mean:
• American ethanol would displace a full tanker of foreign oil imported daily to the U.S.;
• The creation of 136,000 new U.S. jobs; and
• Cuts in harmful emissions equivalent to removing 1.35 million cars from the road.
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About Growth Energy
Growth Energy is a group committed to the promise of agriculture and growing America’s economy through cleaner, greener energy. Growth Energy members recognize America needs a new ethanol approach. Through smart policy reform and a proactive grassroots campaign, Growth Energy promotes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding the use of ethanol in gasoline, decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, and creating American jobs at home. More information can be found at GrowthEnergy.org.