House tees up vote on ethanol compromise, which would attach to Farm Bill
The House is seeking to advance a biofuel bill and then procedurally tie it to the Farm Bill before sending the package to the Senate.
The legislation in question enables year-round sales of gasoline with a high ethanol content, which is typically restricted in the summer due to smog concerns. It also reforms the process for granting small oil refineries exemptions to biofuels blending requirements.
The addition of the measure to the Farm Bill appeared to be a sweetener, designed to appease corn-state Republicans who have long advocated for the proposal.
Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) announced during a Rules Committee meeting that the House would take up the measure as a standalone bill and then “add the text” to the end of the Farm Bill, which Republicans are trying to advance through their razor-thin margin in the House.
The move was met with criticism from Democrats who said it would add an “unfunded mandate” to the Farm Bill.
Rep. Jim McGovern (Mass.), the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, said that according to its Congressional Budget Office score, the ethanol bill would add “billions of dollars to the deficit.”
“This is billions of dollars that won’t be paid for that will be added to the farm bill, which is extraordinary to me,” he said.
The biofuel legislation is a compromise between ethanol backers and oil refinery supporters – constituencies that divide Republicans. The bill is backed by both oil and agriculture lobbying groups.
Earlier this year, Midwest Republicans sought to hold up a funding bill to get ethanol legislation attached to it. Ultimately, GOP leaders agreed to reach a compromise at a later date .
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