US House panel passes bill to block ethanol blend
 

US House panel passes bill to block ethanol blend


5:13 PM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) Feb 07, 2012
* Science panel votes 19-7 to block increase

* Full House vote needed, then Senate


WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. House committee approved a bill on Tuesday seeking to block sales of a higher blend of ethanol in motor fuel until the government conducts more safety tests.

The bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency to work with the National Academies to ensure the fuel that blends gasoline with 15 percent ethanol burns safely in engines.

Currently gasoline refiners widely use a 10 percent blend of ethanol, which is largely made from corn. The industry consumes some 40 percent of the U.S. crop.

The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology passed the bill 19 to 7 and the next stop would be for a full vote on the House floor, but no timeline has been set.

The bill would also have to be passed in the Senate where support for ethanol has traditionally been stronger than in the House.

Ralph Hall, the chair of the panel, said the bill would "prevent damage to the vehicles and engines owned by hundreds of millions of Americans."

Last year the federal government approved E15 for use in more than half of the country's cars. Vehicles built since 2001 are now allowed to burn the fuel but gas station owners have not widely embraced it, citing extra costs and potential liabilities associated with selling it.

An ethanol industry group complained that tests already conducted by the EPA and Department of Energy were sufficient. The ethanol business is eager to push back a "blend wall" that has prevented producers from injecting more ethanol into the country's fuel supply.

"This bill would reverse the progress private industry has already achieved and threaten the job creation that would stem from an increased use of domestic renewable fuels," said Bob Dinneen, the president of the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol's main lobby group.

Many industry groups oppose higher blends, however, saying there are questions about engine safety and that more ethanol production could raise food prices.

More than 30 industry groups including the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Grocery Manufacturers Association wrote a letter to the House panel saying they were united in opposing "premature introduction" of the higher ethanol blend.

US House panel passes bill to block ethanol blend
 

Hope it passes.

E-15 is a Big Disaster Waiting to Happen!
 

Glad some people in government and industry, especially this committee are really studying the findings, facts and listening to many industry experts who know this E-15 will create big problems in todays engines!!!
Now I also just hope "Big Green Money" does not get this crazy ethanol debacle into law and into its real damaging use !!!
Hope for once the powers in charge really look out for the best interests of the public and industry at large !!!

Message here - Write and call your national representitives and let them know using E-15 in todays engines should not become law !!!

Tell those renewable energy ethanol interests to just start drinking their E-15 and quit trying to shove it down our throats!, we got way better ways to get drunk!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Dems control the senate

+1!