Agricultural News
Ethanol Grassroots Fly-In Brings Big Turnout to Capitol Hill
Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:10:12 CDT
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and more than 60 of its grassroots members are on Capitol Hill today and tomorrow for the group's "Biofuels Beltway March" annual fly-in.
The ethanol advocates will have 196 meetings with Members of Congress or their staffs in the course of two days, bringing ethanol information to lawmakers representing 47 states. The group's priorities include highlighting the effectiveness of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), emphasizing how ethanol helps lower prices at the pump, the safety and affordability of E15 ethanol blends, and other issues such as oil subsidies and the clean octane value of ethanol.
"With gasoline prices and energy issues taking center stage in the national discussion recently, I can't think of a better time our grassroots members to make the case for how ethanol is part of the solution to moderating pump prices and reducing our dependence on foreign oil," said Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of ACE.
Among information given to lawmakers during the fly-in is a letter ACE wrote with other national biofuels groups and the National Corn Growers Association urging Congress to continue supporting the RFS.
"We wanted to send a clear message to Congress that we stand united in support of the RFS and that it has played a critical role in saving billions of dollars for consumers at the pump and reducing oil imports to below 50 percent," Jennings said.
You can read the letter from ACE by clicking here.
Fly-in participants come from 13 different states, and represent a diverse group of ethanol plants and other companies with an interest in agriculture and the biofuels industry.
The group was addressed by special guests U.S. Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and John Thune (R-SD) on March 27.
For members who are not able to be a part of the DC fly-in, ACE has for the second year organized a "Virtual Fly-In," which makes it possible for ethanol supporters to send email messages to Members of Congress to coincide with the group's face-to-face meeting. The messages urge Congress to continue to keep the Renewable Fuels Standard intact.
Messages may be sent this week through ACE's Legislative Action Center by clicking here.
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