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September 12, 2011
By Gale Lush, Chairman
WILCOX, Neb. - “In the interest of holding down gasoline prices
at the pump for U.S. consumers, Congress should immediately and
permanently extend the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC)
that is set to expire on 12/31/2011,” said Gale Lush, Chairman
of the American Corn Growers Foundation (ACGF). “In addition
they should tie ethanol subsidies directly to oil subsidies so
that any time ethanol subsidies are reduced oil subsidies are
automatically and simultaneously reduced. It’s time for Congress
to stop protecting subsidies for the mature oil industry while
cutting subsidies to the young ethanol industry. VEETC is an
important part of that structure. This is no time for Congress
to let it expire. It’s about lowering gasoline prices for
consumers. It’s time to recognize the ethanol industry for its
contribution toward keeping gas prices about $1.00 per gallon
lower than they would be without ethanol in the U.S. fuel
supply, according to an April 2011 report from the Center for
Agriculture and Rural Development at Iowa State University.”
Lush added, “Higher gasoline prices to U.S. motorists, even
though crude oil prices have dropped, made news over Labor Day
weekend. Since then additional news reports confirm that U.S.
fuel exports are at a record level and the U.S. Energy
Department’s weekly survey of service stations report the
average price of gasoline rose 4.7 cents per gallon to $3.674 in
the past week, 99.2 cents higher than a year ago. “
“I agree with a spokesman for the Iowa Renewable Fuels
Association who was absolutely correct when he was recently
quoted as saying that ethanol subsidies should be eliminated the
day after oil industry subsidies are eliminated. And, Iowa U.S.
Senator Chuck Grassley was also right on target when he recently
stated, ‘Repeal of the ethanol tax incentive would raise taxes
on producers, blenders and ultimately consumers of renewable
fuel….Ethanol currently accounts for 10 percent of our
transportation fuel. A study concluded that the ethanol industry
contributed $8.4 billion to the federal treasury in 2009 ---
$3.4 billion more than the ethanol incentive. Today, the
industry supports 400,000 U.S. jobs. That’s why I support a
home-grown, renewable fuels industry.’ The U.S. Congress should
re-instate/extend both the $.45 per gallon VEETC and the $.54
per gallon import duty on imported ethanol. We need a trade
policy that treats foreign countries and their products the way
they treat U.S. exports. Congress says it wants to create U.S.
jobs. If they mean that they should crank up the ethanol
industry and set the target of doubling U.S. ethanol production
and create another 400,000 jobs.” said Lush.
Domestically-produced U.S. ethanol helps reduce America’s
dependence on foreign oil and helps increase our domestic motor
fuel supply at a time when a record amount of U.S. fuel is being
exported. Ethanol is a big deal in the U.S. fuel supply.
According to Growth Energy and using information from the Energy
Information Agency (EIA) if the U.S. ethanol industry were a
foreign supplier, only Canada would supply the U.S. with more
fuel than the U.S. ethanol industry.
“According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Economic Research Service and Foreign Agricultural Service the
U.S. ethanol industry will use just 3 percent of the global
grain supply on a net basis in 2011. Even with higher corn
prices today and the amount of corn used for ethanol the farm
value of corn in the U.S. food dollar is only about 3 cents. We
need to remind consumers and policy makers that only the starch
from the corn kernel goes to making ethanol. The protein,
minerals, oil, fiber, etc. is a high value feed that adds to the
livestock feed supply and is used to enhance food for human
consumption,” said Lush. |
