Topic: Senate votes to end ethanol subsidies

[Jeffy]

Senate votes to end ethanol subsidies

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON | Thu Jun 16, 2011 3:21pm EDT

(Reuters) - The Senate voted 73 to 27 on Thursday to wipeout billions of dollars in support for the U.S. ethanol industry.

The Senate approved an amendment to end the 45-cent-a-gallon subsidy the government gives refiners and the 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol from Brazil and other countries.

On Tuesday the Senate fell far short of the 60 votes needed on a similar amendment that would have stripped the industry of some $6 billion a year in support. The Senate voted 59 to 40 against limiting debate on the measure from Republican Tom Coburn.

The ethanol subsidy amendment on Thursday from Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein and Coburn will be tacked on to an underlying economic development bill, which faces a difficult time passing the Senate.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives voted 283-128 on Thursday to prevent Agriculture Department funding for tanks and blender pumps that the ethanol industry wants so stations can sell gasoline with higher blend rates.

(Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

[chardrc]

good. letys get rid of that ethanol junk. let it stand on its own crippled non supporting legs.

[grumpygy]

This wqill just be another reason to raise gas prices.

[YJWralph]

^^  That's exactly what I was thinking...

[sharpxmen]

i think it was more expensive to manufacture ethanol, that's why the need for subsidy - probably there will be no more gasoline with ethanol

[chardrc]

i think it was more expensive to manufacture ethanol, that's why the need for subsidy - probably there will be no more gasoline with ethanol

well in Minnesota it is law that there has to be 10% ethanol (maybe they changed to 15%), and I don't see that going away anytime soon with how far in bed the corn lobbyists are in with the gov... gas will probably go up 50-75 cents because the cost for 10% of it went up 50 cents per gallon. price gouging here we come. E85 prices should to go through the roof  .

but you are exactly correct cost more to make ethanol than market value.

[sharpxmen]

well in Minnesota it is law that there has to be 10% ethanol (maybe they changed to 15%), and I don't see that going away anytime soon with how far in bed the corn lobbyists are in with the gov... gas will probably go up 50-75 cents because the cost for 10% of it went up 50 cents per gallon. price gouging here we come. E85 prices should to go through the roof  .

but you are exactly correct cost more to make ethanol than market value.

didn't think about that to be honest, so there isn't an option to not blend it - darn, that's going to be tough

[chardrc]

some stations have non-oxy gas (few and far between as most are Mobil stations which seem to be going away). its not cheap and it can only be legally used in non highway vehicles, collector vehicles, or vehicles that could be registered as a collector. needless to say when my jeep turned 20 I started running only nonoxy in it. and we run non oxy in everything we can. if they started selling nonoxy sooner we would probably still have our dunebugy, but with the ethanol if you didn't drive it for a week you would have to rebuild the carb.

looked at a few more articles and this looks like the normal pull funding here but give it back to them in another way. ounce I read "Amy Klobuchar" I knew something bad was in the works.

"What Pacific Ethanol and other ethanol producers do favor is a bipartisan Senate measure proposed by South Dakota Republican John Thune and Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar.

They say their bill would generate $2.5 billion by ending the VEETC and allocate $1 billion to deficit reduction. It would invest $1.5 billion in cellulosic biofuel tax incentives and subsidize 53,000 blender pumps that would mix varying amounts of ethanol with gasoline.

The measure also would tie future tax incentives to the price of oil – meaning no subsidy when oil prices rise to a specific point, but resumption of tax credits if oil prices drop below a certain point.

Koehler said a variable incentive tied to oil prices "is both good consumer and energy policy." He said the Thune-Klobuchar bill "represents a strong step forward in establishing a more sustainable model for biofuels production, infrastructure expansion and support for the commercialization of next-generation biofuels."

Critics of the Thune-Klobuchar measure contend that it makes unrealistic assumptions about oil prices and amounts to government coddling of an unstable industry.


Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/18/3709630/pacific-ethanol-ok-with-repealing.html#ixzz1PdXhsrSB
"

so basically they still give the incentives to keep the nonprofitable ethanol industry going rather than letting it die. If it doesn't work it doesn't work let it die 

[grumpygy]

if they started selling nonoxy sooner we would probably still have our dunebugy, but with the ethanol if you didn't drive it for a week you would have to rebuild the carb.

Main reason I got rid of my old bike a Suzuki 750 Katana got tired of rebuilding the carbs and they were a pain to get in and out.  Lucky so far the Harley does not have a problem with it.

  But the YJ I have my fingers crossed on.  I had not really driven it since 2005, now all its getting is Ethanol based fuel.  Hope there are not any problems with it.