Source:  Dani Friedland, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 3/10/11

Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) introduced legislation in the Senate Wednesday that would repeal the tax credit for ethanol blenders.

The bill would repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), which gives 45 cents per gallon to ethanol blenders. “The ethanol tax credit is largely unneeded today to ensure demand for domestic ethanol production,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report issued last week.
In the report, the GAO estimated that the VEETC’s annual cost in forgone revenues could rise from $5.4 billion in 2010 to $6.75 billion in 2015, when the fuel standard will require 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuels.

“The ethanol tax credit is bad economic policy, bad energy policy and bad environmental policy. The $6 billion we waste every year on corporate welfare should instead stay in taxpayers’ pockets where it can be used to spur innovation, stimulate growth and create jobs. I’m hopeful my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will take a stand against business-as-usual special interest giveaways and eliminate this wasteful and harmful subsidy,” Coburn said in a statement.

“As our economy begins to grow again, we need to bring our budget under control through a combination of smart cuts and smart investments. Cutting yet another subsidy to big oil that is making big profits is smart policy. Rather than underwriting ethanol subsidies that are causing food prices to skyrocket, we should be supporting American innovation in more sustainable alternative fuels the results of which will help create jobs, lower energy costs and strengthen our national security,” Cardin said in a statement.

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.