05/08/08 Calls for ethanol 'time out'

The man presumed to be the Republican presidential nominee John McCain and 23 other US Senators are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to halt the expansion of ethanol production. The goal of the 24 Republicans is to provide relief to higher food prices in the US and around the world. Idaho's Mike Crapo has been a long time supporter of alternative fuels as a way to lessen American dependence on foreign oil and he did not sign onto the EPA letter. CRAPO "There are a lot of reasons why the price of food is going up so high not all of them related to ethanol, in fact probably not most of them related to ethanol. The weak dollar, the market conditions, the planting and the harvest conditions around the globe are big factors in all of this." Crapo says he's still studying the issue and listening to economists with differing views on the long and short term implications of high ag commodity prices and the correlation to ethanol production. Iowa's Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Ag Committee, says EPA should not only uphold the ethanol standards contained in the energy bill but should expand to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Harkin also called for the investment in production of biofuels from cellulosic materials in the Farm Bill currently under debate in the Congress. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott