WASHINGTON – Tomorrow, the
House Commerce and Energy Committee kicks off several hearings on the Renewable
Fuel Standard (RFS), eenews.net reports. The standard mandates that 36 billion
gallons of biofuels be blended into the U.S. automotive fuel supply within a
decade.
The hearing, under the
House Energy and Power Subcommittee, will address “government perspectives” on
the standard and use white papers by members of the entire committee. This
week’s testimony will be from government officials.
“We want everybody to talk,”
said Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), who chairs the subcommittee. “I'm not much
concerned about who comes from the government side; I'm more interested in the
people out in the country who are being affected by it. We want to listen to
all of those groups.”
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) uses the RFS to set annual goals for regular ethanol
and next-generation biofuels. Those in favor think RFS will help reduce the
country’s dependence on foreign oil. However, opponents think the standards trigger
higher costs for food and gasoline.
Reps. Steve Scalise
(R-LA), vice chair of the subcommittee, and Pete Olson (R-TX) have introduced a
bill that would nix the standard, while Olson alone has sponsored legislation
that would allow natural gas to be part of the RFS. Legislation that would
eliminate the standard has also been introduced in the Senate.