Congress Should Support Ethanol

Floor Speech

* Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, Members of Congress are working to remedy the current economic imbalance, immense unemployment, job creation and both domestic and international energy based issues. As we look to the future; we must confront the many dimensions of these complex challenges to create solutions that will have a lasting positive benefit for America. I believe investing in renewable energy sources, including ethanol, is an efficient and effective economic stimulus. Ethanol serves as an aid to meet energy policy goals by promoting domestic production of renewable energy, reducing green house gas emissions and providing financial support for the agriculture sector.

* Nationwide, ethanol has increased tax revenues for both State and local governments by over $5 billion. Ethanol production and use today reduces green house gas emissions compared to gasoline by 59 percent. According to the Congressional Budget Office report as of this July, Argonne National Lab concluded corn based ethanol produced 20 percent less green house gas emissions in its life cycle compared to gasoline and petroleum diesel. Ethanol production contributed $53.3 billion to the Nation's gross domestic product and created over 200,000 jobs in all sectors of the economy. The state of Illinois produces over 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol annually and is ranked third in ethanol production with 14 facilities. Just as ethanol has been a valuable tool for the state of Illinois, I strongly believe support for this renewable energy source can be a great benefit to the Nation.

* Our current energy economy is not sustainable. It is imperative we restructure our energy infrastructure in a sustainable manner while simultaneously reducing our green house gas emissions. Investing in ethanol and other renewable energy sources are an important piece of our Nation's economic and energy future.

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