Senator Obama praises ethanol plant in Pekin [2005 flashback]

obama.senate.gov ^ | Wednesday, March 16, 2005 | Jason Carson Wilson

[AFPhys]

PEKIN (IL) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama sent a message to Congress from Aventine Renewable Energy's plant.

Obama visited the nation's second-largest ethanol producer Monday.

Obama urged increasing ethanol production and reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

"For too long now we've relied too heavily on foreign oil to fuel our energy needs in this country, and for too long politicians have just passed the buck or gotten themselves bogged down in partisanship over what to do about it," he said in a release.

He said he hopes to incorporate support for both ethanol and biodiesel into an upcoming energy bill.

The 2004 Energy Bill -- H.R. 4503 -- passed through the House and went to the Senate in June, according to the U.S. Committee on Energy and Natural Resource's Web site.

The freshman Democrat says higher ethanol production targets should be broken out of the bill, which has repeatedly stalled over disputes about drilling and liability for water supplies contaminated by the gasoline additive MTBE.

Obama said he also supports related technologies.

"I'm a big supporter of biodiesel," Obama said in a Monday afternoon interview.

He said investing in biodiesel will, in the long term, help make the economy stronger.

Obama said government support has often helped new establish new technologies. He cited the railroad and Internet.

"It's not until the government has given it a shot in the arm that they really take off," he said.

Boosting ethanol production has broad, bipartisan congressional support, but has been "held hostage" by other concerns in the energy bill, Obama said.

"Now is the opportunity to get this done -- not only for the future of our farmers, the future of our economy and the future of our environment, but to make our country a place that is independent and innovative enough to control its own energy future," Obama said.

Illinois Biodiesel Systems LLC, has been trying to find funding to build a $40 million 15,000-square foot plant at Riverway Business Park. Pekin Director of Economic Development Kim Uhlig has said that because the biodiesel field is such a new technology, lending institutions are stricter on loans to fund them. State and federal funding is available, but that funding comes after a plant is built with private resources and the plant is producing a predetermined amount of biodiesel fuel -- not for the construction process.

Obama is a member of the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee, which is scheduled to begin debate Wednesday on whether to break ethanol out of the energy bill and how high to set targets for ethanol production.

The nation's ethanol production is expected to top 4 billion gallons this year, and some supporters have advocated doubling that by 2012. They say raising production could ultimately boost corn prices by 25 cents a bushel, which would pump an extra $375 million a year into the Illinois farm economy.

Though he has not settled on a production goal, Obama said boosting the nation's ethanol output is a "no-brainer" that would spawn new plants, create jobs and save $4 billion a year in imported oil and gasoline costs.

Roger Bushue, Aventine director of human resources and business alignment, said Obama pledged to work with Congress to provide more ethanol.

Bushue confirmed Obama's intent to develop a comprehensive plan to make the nation more energy independent.

"He feels it's a bipartisan issue," he said.

"One out of every six rows of corn is being used for ethanol production," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

[AFPhys]

Today he criticized President Bush for ethanol... LOL

"Obama urged increasing ethanol production and reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

"For too long now we've relied too heavily on foreign oil to fuel our energy needs in this country, and for too long politicians have just passed the buck or gotten themselves bogged down in partisanship over what to do about it," he said in a release.

"I'm a big supporter of biodiesel," Obama said in a Monday afternoon interview.

"Obama is a member of the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee,..." not merely a bystander in this debacle.

"Though he has not settled on a production goal, Obama said boosting the nation's ethanol output is a "no-brainer" that would spawn new plants, create jobs and save $4 billion a year in imported oil and gasoline costs."

Maroons... we're surrounded by them.

[AFPhys]

Don’t expect this to be on his .gov website very long after his criticism of ethanol today... The web page would be a great thing to “capture” for posterity, but I don’t have that capability.

[.cnI redruM]

Post-Ethanol America: There’s no such thing as an affordable lunch!

[sickoflibs]

Bush finally gave in on this, and it looks like McCain is full steam ahead. When will the idiot big government trusting masses going to figure out this is a disaster?

[sickoflibs]

Bush finally gave in on this, and it looks like McCain is full steam ahead. When will the idiot big government trusting masses going to figure out this is a disaster?

[RightGeek]

Also on the Obama Senate Web site - Brazil offers model for ethanol success

[Typical_Whitey]

I voted for the ethanol before I voted agin it?

Liberals are idiots and Americans that get persuaded by them are sheep.

[Yollopoliuhqui]

Barack “Trotsky’s Trojan Horse” Obama is basically laying the groundwork for skyrocketing food prices and mass starvation in the third world.

[Paige]

The use of biofuels are causing food shortages and the highest jump in food cost in almost 20 yrs. Once again, the consumer is punished because the Whacko ignorant Environmentalist were wrong.

[353FMG]

Brazil converts SUGAR CANE into ethanol, we convert CORN into ethanol — big difference.

More sugar per pound of sugar cane than in a pound of corn. It is the sugar that turns into ethanol, not the corn.
I think I let Obambi figure it out himself.

[AFPhys]

My most favorite line demonstrates just how stupid these people are when it comes to how markets work:

“The nation's ethanol production is expected to top 4 billion gallons this year, and some supporters have advocated doubling that by 2012. They say raising production could ultimately boost corn prices by 25 cents a bushel, which would pump an extra $375 million a year into the Illinois farm economy.”

Corn was trading about $2-$2.25/bu then, and in that vicinity for much of the last couple decades. Well, we're merely starting along the way to this "burning food" foolishness, and the BLUE line shows the price action in corn since March 2005:

http://www.upperman.com/mprof/p33.gif
Sorry, I have no idea what this analyst's other lines are...

The latest month is not on this chart. Corn was trading this morning at $6.17/bu... about three times the price in March 2005 - a far cry from "could ultimately boost corn prices by 25 cents a bushel". Corn is not the only food that has more than doubled; others have all done so in part because changing acreage to corn has reduced supply of other crops (other factors are dollar fall, strong worldwide economies, recent crop failures). See more food and other commodities charts (I suggest the 10yr) here: http://www.fabsites.com/FabFutures.html

(for some reason, I have not been able to link those charts into FR posts... sorry - they are MUCH easier to interpret)

[AFPhys]

“laying the groundwork”??? ... There are now food riots worldwide, and there was an article posted on FR this weekend about Haitians making “dirt and vegetable oil” cakes to stave off starvation.

The future you speak of is now.

We need to STOP THIS MORONIC DRIVE TO SUBSIDIZE BURNING FOOD!!!

[AFPhys]

AlGore Lied. People Died.

[Bender2]

What? Obama was for ethanol... before he was against it!

Gadzooks! Obama is getting like Billary. Now he cain't keep his lies straight either.