09/05/2011
by Gary Truitt
After spending a month back home, Senators and Representatives will return to the Capitol this week with serious issues needing their attention. Bob Dinneen, with the Renewable Fuels Association, is not expecting much to happen on the energy front. Dinneen is frustrated with the inability of Congress to do its job. "It’s got everything to do with a dysfunctional Congress that couldn’t agree on whether or not Mother’s Day was a good thing," he said, adding that in terms of energy policy, nothing is happening right now. "They’re focused right now on this super committee which is a recipe for more gridlock. There’s no way those 12 members are going to be able to come up with a plan to address the country’s needs in terms of the budget and taxes." He said the administration is working on a few programs to help increase the number of blender pumps but, without funding and an energy policy, little will be accomplished.
In the meantime, the ethanol industry is preparing for what it expects to happen in 2012, "The industry is preparing for the elimination of the ethanol tax incentive in 2012." He said the industry will survive without the incentive, "The industry has changed and the market has changed; we will be just fine without it."
Meanwhile there will be plenty of things happening on the campaign trail as GOP candidates seek voter attention. Dinneen says, so far, most of the candidates support ethanol in a general way but no one is getting specific, "They all say they support ethanol, but where do they stand on supporting the renewable fuel standard?" He said that is what is going to drive growth and investment in ethanol and the development of the cellulosic fuel sector.
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