WASHINGTON — If only ethanol could blush.
The corn-based renewable fuel was praised to the heavens Tuesday at an energy event on Capitol Hill organized by the Midwestern Governors Association.
Nebraska's U.S. senators — Ben Nelson, a Democrat, and Mike Johanns, a Republican — gave opening remarks extolling their long-standing devotion to the fuel. Both served as chairman of the association while governor of Nebraska — a state now conspicuously absent from the regional association.
The senators said ethanol and other renewable energy sources have the ability to foster both energy independence and economic growth.
“Last year, the ethanol industry created and supported more than 400,000 jobs in the United States,” Johanns said. “It contributed $53.3 billion to the national Gross Domestic Product and generated $8.4 billion in federal tax revenues.”
Nelson and Johanns decried the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent announcement that it would delay a decision on whether to raise the cap on ethanol blends in gasoline to 15 percent from 10 percent.
The delay could slow the development of new biofuels, Nelson said. “The delay also puts jobs in Nebraska, the Midwest and all of the U.S. at risk.”
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, a Democrat, spoke during the event about the many wind farms dotting the Iowa landscape.
He said the EPA needs to make its decision on ethanol blends, but he also called on Congress to enact new renewable energy standards, renew lapsed biodiesel tax credits and continue supporting wind energy.
“What's at stake here is losing these good-paying jobs that we've created, hundreds of thousands of them,” Culver said.
The association's roster sounds like the roll of the Big Ten Conference the Huskers soon will join, but Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman trimmed the $10,000 annual membership dues from the state budget last year. Spokeswoman Jen Rae Hein said the governor asked state agencies to cut their budgets and “leads by example.”
Heineman also plans to cut his membership in the Western Governors Association from this year's budget, Hein said. That would leave Nebraska without representation in one of the regional associations of governors.
Emily Marthaler, spokeswoman for the Midwestern Governors Association, said the group hopes that Nebraska will return at some point.
Johanns and Nelson said as governors they saw a lot of benefits to being part of the association, particularly on energy and agriculture issues, but did not criticize Heineman's cut.
“I don't second-guess the governor,” Johanns said.
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202-662-7270, joe.morton@owh.com
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