WASHINGTON, DC – Growth Energy, the leading coalition of U.S. ethanol supporters, released a statement today in support of bipartisan legislation, introduced by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind., which would help give motorists choices at the pump besides gasoline derived from foreign oil.
Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, said:
“The truth is that every American motorist is held in a captive market – captive to foreign oil interests, dominated by OPEC. It doesn’t have to be that way. What Sen. Cantwell and Sen. Lugar propose is policy that would help open the market, so that Americans have access to alternative fuels, like ethanol.
“If we are ever going to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and allow consumers a fuel choice, we will need an open market. An open market will drive the investment into cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels. Ethanol is renewable, cleaner than gasoline and it creates U.S. jobs that can never be outsourced. The more ethanol we have in the market, the less oil we need to import from overseas – keeping our money here in the U.S., putting it to work on our economy.”
The “Open Fuels Standard Act of 2011” would ramp up production of Flex Fuel-capable vehicles to as much as 80 percent of the U.S.-produced fleet by 2018.
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About Growth Energy
Growth Energy represents the producers and supporters of ethanol who feed the world and fuel America in ways that achieve energy independence, improve economic well-being and create a healthier environment for all Americans now.