04/26/06 Bush talks ethanol

04/26/06 Bush talks ethanol

Bush talks ethanol. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. President Bush continued to burnish his credentials as ethanol`s "promoter-in-chief" Tuesday during an address at the Renewable Fuels Association Energy Summit in Washington D.C. The President used the opportunity to tout the nation`s strong economic growth - and called for making temporary tax cuts passed earlier in his administration permanent. But he also acknowledged that ag producers - and all Americans - are being hurt by high fuel prices. And he said no immediate relief is in sight. BUSH: Gasoline prices are like a hidden tax on the working people. They're like a tax on our farmers. They're like a tax on small businesses. Energy experts predict that gas prices will remain high throughout the summer and that's going to be a continued strain on the American people. And so the fundamental question is what are we going to do? What can the government do? While President Bush offered no short-term solutions to high energy prices - he said ethanol did offer the long-term solution to what he again called "America`s addiction to foreign oil". BUSH: Technology is the way really to help change America for the better. Years of investment in fuels like ethanol have put on the thresh hold of major breakthroughs. And those breakthroughs are becoming a reality for our consumers. I set a goal to replace oil from around the world; the best way and the fastest way to do so is through the use of ethanol. President Bush also praised ethanol as environmentally friendly - good for rural economic development - and good for U.S. agriculture. BUSH: Ethanol is a versatile fuel and the benefits are easy to recognize when you think about it. One, the use of ethanol in our automobiles is good for the agricultural sector. I'm one of these people who believes when the agricultural sector is strong, America is strong. (applause) It's a good thing when a President can sit there and say, "Gosh, we've got a lot of corn." And that means we are less dependant on foreign sources of oil. President Bush also congratulated the U.S. ethanol industry on its rapid. But the President had a word of caution about the ability of corn to meet all of the nation`s ethanol needs. As you might expect - ag groups reacted positively to the President`s speech. National Corn Growers Association First Vice President Ken McCauley - who attended the RFA Energy Summit - said President Bush "touched on just about everything we needed to hear" - and said the President had "just a great message." That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
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