04/21/05 House begins energy bill debate

04/21/05 House begins energy bill debate

Farm and Ranch April 21, 2005 Energy prices are a hot topic these days. The question is whether it is hot enough for congress to finally pass an energy bill. The House of Representatives began debate yesterday on energy legislation and amendments. Troy Bredenkamp is an energy specialist with the American Farm Bureau Federation. Bredenkamp: "We have been working on comprehensive legislation now for five years. This year there seems to be much more urgency to get something done. I think the high gas prices, the high natural gas prices and the fact they don't seem to be coming down much, are having an impact on legislators and the consumer." Farmers are urging congress to pass a bill with progressive alternatives for the future and are concerned that the House Ways and Means Committee approved tax provisions that largely ignored renewable fuels while sending billions in incentives to oil and gas interests. Bredenkamp: "When you oil prices at 50 some dollars a barrel and natural gas prices where they are at, it would be hard to explain why there would be a need for many incentives at all." Bredenkamp says a second concern is a lack of increased ethanol usage in light of those sky high gas prices. Bredenkamp: "It only makes sense to us that that product would be better utilized than what it is being right now because it could certainly bring the price down for the consumer 10-15 cents." The House bill would require refiners to use five billion gallons of renewable fuel a year, but renewable fuel backers would like to see that boosted to eight billion gallons. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
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