Ethanol Fail
I should have known early reports of the death of ethanol supports in Congress were too good to be true. Ethanol appears to be the un-killable zombie menace. It used to be a Baptists and bootleggers issue but even the Baptists (the environmentalists, in this case) have turned against it. But still it lives on, probably as long as Iowa is a critical step in the Presidential nomination process.
Thune and Klobuchar's bill takes the tax revenue gained from ending the VEETC (which, again, doesn't help ethanol producers), and dedicates most of the money to other ethanol subsidies, such as tax credits for small ethanol producers and for ethanol blender pumps to be installed at gas stations. The bill, of course, leaves in place the mandate, which is by far the biggest ethanol subsidy.
Lobbyists for the American Coalition for Ethanol and the Renewable Fuels Association applaud the bill -- which tells you just about all you need to know.
