Carpenter wants reconsideration of ethanol commitment
Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker and Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch asking them to reconsider the state's commitment to subsidizing ethanol production as the legislative leaders continue to negotiate a budget repair bill.
Carpenter's letter comes on the heels of a call from national Republicans to abandon ethanol mandates.
"Corn ethanol was originally assumed to be a win-win situation that would lessen dependence on foreign oil while being environmentally superior to fossil-based fuel. In response, government at both the state and federal level has heavily subsidized corn ethanol production. These assumptions appear to have been overly optimistic," Carpenter writes.
"It appears that politics got ahead of science, and the negative and unintended consequences of such subsidies require a reassessment of continued taxpayer support."
Meanwhile, Rep. Don Pridemore, R-Hartford, has proposed a plan to impose unpaid leave on workers that could reap $45 million in savings.
See the Carpenter letter here.
See Pridemore's letter here.
Labels: biofuels, Budget_Repair_Bill
