September 20, 2010
Blog: Ethanol: A good deal for America’s economy
Published in The HIll
Congress and the news media are focused on infrastructure stimulus packages but they’re overlooking one legislative issue that is guaranteed to have a significant impact on jobs, especially in rural economies: biofuels.
While there are only a few weeks left of this session, I believe Congress must make it a top priority to fund programs to support America’s biofuels industry. Last year, ethanol producers supported some 400,000 jobs involving production, innovations to develop advanced biofuels and the research and development that makes the industry more efficient. The one aspect of our economy that is going strong is the agricultural sector and we shouldn’t abandon that now.
Not only does a thriving biofuels industry help a growing and vital energy sector, it’s supported by government programs that pay for themselves. America’s biofuels industry last year, with the help of the blender’s tax credit and the Renewable Fuels Standard, generated an estimated $8.4 billion in federal tax revenues, based on higher taxable incomes for ethanol workers and the industry’s contribution to a higher gross domestic product.
American farmers and other jobs here at home are supported by the biofuels industry but it also helps those who aren’t at home; our troops who must be stationed overseas to protect our energy interests, particularly in the Middle East. People are increasingly aware of the billions of dollars sent overseas to buy the oil necessary to meet our growing energy needs. But that amount pales in comparison to the human and financial cost required to ensure our energy security.
The biofuels industry has come a long way since I introduced my first “gasohol” bill during my freshman term as a Mississippi state senator in 1981. It’s an industry that has come of age and in the process, it’s become an indispensable part of our national energy portfolio.
Biofuels play a critical role in supporting an economic recovery searching for traction and is part of the solution to improving our energy security. Along with solar, wind, nuclear, domestic oil and other energy sources, ethanol is vital in reducing our need for foreign oil and the need for American troops to keep that oil flowing.
Our nation and Congress must stand by American workers and support an industry that keeps us safe at home and our troops safe around the world.
Ronnie Shows is a former U.S. Representative from....
