Newsflash: Party’s ending for ethanol subsidies
June 16th, 2011 | by Gawain KripkeSenate votes overwhelmingly to end the ethanol tax credit immediately.
Today the Senate voted 73 to 27 to end the VEETC in July, even though it was scheduled to expire at the end of the year anyway.
At the same, time, the House voted overwhelmingly to prohibit new government investment in ethanol infrastructure. By a vote of 283 to 128, the House voted to prohibit any new spending on pumps and storage facilities for ethanol.
Neither is law and the final result is not yet known. Legislative process has many twists and turns. But both votes send a strong signal that the days of endless ethanol subsidies could soon be over.
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Gawain Kripke
Gawain Kripke is the director of policy and research at Oxfam America and has more than 20 years of experience working on public policy and advocacy issues. He has testified before congressional committees and is a frequent news commentator on foreign aid, human rights, humanitarian issues, and agriculture policies.
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