If Republicans are serious about their free-market talk they'll let the expiring ethanol subsidies die, I wrote earlier this month. But they're not.
Senators Urge Action for Energy Security and Job CreationWASHINGTON – Saying that ethanol offers the most effective alternative to foreign oil and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in the United States, Senators Chuck Grassley and Kent Conrad have gathered signatures for a letter to Senate leaders urging action this year on legislation to extend renewable fuel tax and tariff provisions.The senators said immediate action is warranted to “provide stability and certainty for producers and consumers of renewable fuels.”“Ethanol has proven its value as a homegrown, renewable fuel and, in light of the hundreds of billions of dollars shipped abroad as a result of foreign oil dependence, ethanol is a relative bargain,” Grassley said.
The most depressing names on the letter: Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., otherwise a staunch opponent of pork; and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., the leader in opposing sugar subsidies.
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