[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 124 (Thursday, September 26, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9415-S9416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SUPPORT OF RENEWABLE FUELS PROVISION

  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I rise to urge the House-Senate Energy 
Bill conferees to resist any efforts from House Republican conferees to 
alter or weaken the renewable fuels standard that was included in the 
Senate energy bill. The new standard was crafted in a consensus manner 
and supported by a strong majority in the Senate. It must remain intact 
in the conference report.
  Earlier this Congress, I introduced a bill with Senator Chuck Hagel 
of Nebraska, the Renewable Fuels for Energy Security Act of 2001, S. 
1006, to ensure future growth for ethanol and biodiesel through the 
creation of a new, renewable fuels content standard in all motor fuel 
produced and used in the United States. The framework of this bill was 
included in the Senate energy bill, requiring that 5 billions gallons 
of transportation fuel be comprised of renewable fuel by 2012, nearly a 
tripling of the current ethanol production. While the House of 
Representatives version of the bill did not include a renewable fuels 
standard, this issue was thoroughly debated on the Senate floor during 
consideration of the energy bill. Several amendments were offered to 
weaken or eliminate the renewable fuels standard but all of those 
efforts were soundly defeated. And for good reason: increased renewable 
fuel production lessens our dependence upon foreign oil, strengthens 
energy security, increases farm income, creates jobs, helps the 
environment, helps our international balance of trade, and would lower 
annual federal farm payments by $6.6 billion.
  In addition, the new standard boosts economic growth in rural 
America. I do not need to convince anyone in South

[[Page S9416]]

Dakota and other rural States of the benefits of ethanol to the 
environment and the economies of rural communities. Farmer-owned 
ethanol plants in South Dakota, and in neighboring States, demonstrate 
the hard work and commitment being expended to serve a growing market 
for clean domestic fuels.
  In South Dakota, six ethanol plants are operating to produce 
approximately 116 million gallons per year. Four other ethanol projects 
are under construction, with a combined capacity to produce an 
additional 139 million gallons of ethanol annually.
  Increasingly, modern ethanol plants in South Dakota are equipped to 
produce 40 million gallons of ethanol per year, such as the plants 
operating in Wentworth, Watertown, and near Milbank, as well as the 
proposed sites under construction in Chancellor and Groton. The 
economic benefits of one, 40 million gallon ethanol plant are 
significant, including an increase of household income for the 
community by $20 million annually.
  The bill has other important provisions, including an orderly phase-
down of MTBE use and removal of the oxygen content requirement for 
reformulated gasoline, RFG. The new standard has strong bipartisan 
support and is the result of long and comprehensive negotiations 
between farm groups, the oil industry and environmentalists. It is the 
first time that a substantive agreement has been reached on this issue.
  Including the Senate-passed renewable fuels standard in the 
conference will go a long way towards increasing the Nation's domestic 
energy supply and making it more secure in the future. However, after 
no renewable fuels provision was included in the House energy bill, 
House Republican conferees, have chosen to introduce an unworkable 
alternative at the eleventh hour that has received no debate and has no 
consensus.
  This is not acceptable. The conference should adopt the Senate-passed 
standard immediately. After a long debate, a consensus has been reached 
on this issue, demonstrating bipartisan support for a broader, deeper 
and more diverse energy portfolio, one that ensures we have clean, 
reliable and affordable domestic sources of energy. Let's move forward 
and enact the Senate language into law.

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