Iowa’s elected officials have sent a letter to President Obama, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack urging the federal government to hold a hearing in Iowa on the EPA proposal to cut the amount of ethanol required to be mixed in fuel. The EPA announced a proposal to cut the amount of ethanol required in what’s call the Renewal Fuel Standard by 3 billion gallons.
Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey says the ethanol industry impacts more than just the farmers who grow the corn used to produce it. “Whether you are selling tires to folks or working at a grocery store, there is an impact when the income from Iowans go down from one place it affects every other Iowan out there, and certainly agriculture has the power to do that,” Northey says.
Governor Terry Branstad along with U.S. Senators Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin, Congressmen Tom Latham, Steve King, Dave Loebsack and Bruce Braley all signed onto the letter along with Northey. The letter says, Iowans, midwesterners and all Americans deserve a fair hearing on the issue that is not “clouded by the politics of Washington, D.C.”
See the letter here: RFS letter PDF