Rogers' Bill Would Kick Start' E-85 Fuel Access
Rogers' Bill Would Kick Start' E-85 Fuel Access
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, MI-08, says if America is to end its dependence on foreign oil, our efforts to make alternative fuels viable and accessible need to be kicked into high gear.
On Tuesday, Rogers will introduce legislation to "kick start" the distribution system for one rapidly growing alternative fuel - E-85, which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
"Nearly five million Americans drive flex-fuel vehicles, which operate on the renewable fuel, E-85, or gasoline, and the Big Three will produce another million this year," Rogers said. "Our U.S. autoworkers are building the cars we need to cure our addiction to foreign oil, but we don't yet have a fully functioning distribution system for the renewable fuels made from products grown in Michigan and other U.S. states.
"Unfortunately, today we have only 600 gas stations nationwide with E-85 pumps installed, and not very many of those are in Michigan. With gas prices at record highs, now is the time to be proactive in making ethanol fuel available to Americans."
Rogers' measure will allow independent gas stations, not large oil companies, to apply for targeted grants to be used for the installation of E-85 pumps and other alternative fuel infrastructure.
Funding for the grants would come from the more than $20 million annually that automakers pay in penalties for failing to meet federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. Rogers' legislation will double the number of E-85 pumps in the United States in one year.
"This would take the CAFE fines paid largely by foreign automakers and turn them into a kick start for E-85 distribution in America," said Rogers, who serves as vice-chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. "Getting the distribution system for cheaper, domestically produced ethanol sync'd with the automakers' production of flex-fuel vehicles would be a giant step forward for our national economy."
http://www.mikerogers.house.gov/newsroom.aspx?A=238