South Dakota and Nebraska Senators move to attach 36 Mgy Renewable Fuel Standard to Farm Bill

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson and South Dakota Senator John Thune have co-sponsored an amendment to the Farm Bill, adding a Renewable Fuels Standard target of 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022. 21 billion gallons would come from next-generation biofuels.

Thune and Nelson say that the Renewable Fuel Standard, originally included in the 2007 Energy Bill, is a “better fit” for the Farm Bill. The Energy Bill is stalled as members of Congress has been unable to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.

Last week, Senator Pete Domenici (R- New Mexico) proposed an amendment to Farm Bill mandating 15 billion gallons of ethanol usage by 2015.
The Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version of the five-year, $280 billion farm bill earlier this month. The bill is now in conference between the House and Senate, and the leadership has expressed the view that amendments should not be included in the final package. President Bush has raised the threat of a Farm Bill veto, the first since 1956, over what he has described as excessive levels of subsidies.

The bill earmarks $1.3 billion for biofuels over the next five years, and includes cellulosic ethanol incentives.

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