Healthcare Reform & Increasing the Blend

Healthcare Reform & Increasing the Blend. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

President Obama has turned up the heat on lawmakers to pass health care reform before the August recess….scheduled for August 10th. Speaking from the Rose Garden Wednesday, the President said, deferring reform is nothing more than defending the status quo. Wednesday, the Senate’s health committee became the first committee to pass a health care bill. Washington Congressman Doc Hastings says the price is too high.

HASTINGS: They really at this point don’t know how much this is going to cost the taxpayers but the range is from a half a trillion dollars to a trillion and a half dollars, now that’s a huge range and my concern is that the end result of this would be the imposition of more government into our healthcare decision.

Governors from ten Midwestern states have asked EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to increase the blending levels of ethanol to 15 percent. In a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm wrote, - the Midwest has vast natural resources, the scientific know-how, and the skilled workforce necessary to lead the world in the production of climate-friendly biofuels. We must capitalize on these strengths in order to promote the use of low carbon fuels across the country. Granholm chairs the Midwestern Governors Association.

Now here’s today’s Washington Grange Report.

(GRANGE)

That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.