[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 70 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H5312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ETHANOL AND THE EPA

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, in 1994, the EPA enacted a regulation 
requiring additives derived from renewable sources for our Nation's 
fuel supplies. This policy caused problems as corn ethanol pushed up 
food prices and turned out to be far less beneficial for the 
environment than originally thought, with some studies even concluding 
ethanol may be worse for the environment than gasoline.
  Now, over a decade later, the EPA has ruled that Congress tasked it 
with regulating greenhouse gases when it passed the Clean Air Act. 
Without action by Congress, regulations are soon to follow. This fact 
is being held over our heads by some who claim it is better to let 
Congress regulate emissions than unelected bureaucrats. This is a false 
choice. The act was never intended to regulate carbon, and we can pass 
legislation to make that clear.
  Congress should stop unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats from 
hurting our economy further through draconian emissions regulations 
without doing harm itself. There is a better way.

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