US Senate rejects effort to act on renewable fuels amendment

US Senate rejects effort to act on renewable fuels amendment

Washington (Platts)--29Apr2004


The US Senate Thursday defeated a motion that would have paved the way for
consideration of an amendment requiring the use of 5-bil gal of renewable
fuels, such as ethanol, in the nation's gasoline supplies by 2012. The Senate
rejected a motion to curtail debate on the amendment offered by Sen. Tom
Daschle (Democrat-South Dakota) to an Internet tax bill. The amendment would
have also banned the use of MTBE and eliminated the reformulated gasoline
program's oxygenate standard. Daschle is locked in a tight reelection campaign
and represents a farm state that would benefit from the renewable fuels
program. Although the Senate failed to allow the amendment to move forward, a
Senate aide said Daschle is likely to benefit politically by attempting to
move forward the renewable fuels provision, which was pulled from the stalled
comprehensive energy bill.