Senate cloture vote again today at 2PM to eliminate tax credit for ethanol

[flpoljunkie]

Senator Diane Feinstein just spoke on the Senate floor. She is cosponsoring the bill with Republican Tom Coburn. Feinstein is hopeful they will have the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture on this amendment.

The bill eliminates the 45 cent per gallon tax credit and also the 54 cent per gallon tariff on imported ethanol.

[flpoljunkie]

1. More on this from Ezra Klein...

The Senate will vote again on ethanol subsidies today, reports Ben Geman: "The Senate will vote again Thursday on a plan to strip a major ethanol industry tax break and end the ethanol import tariff. Forty senators voted for the measure Tuesday, well shy of the 60 votes needed to advance the plan, when Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) offered it as an amendment to an economic development bill. But the politics of Tuesday’s battle were clouded by Democratic anger at Coburn’s surprise procedural move last week that set up the vote. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday evening that the Senate would vote on Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) identical version of the amendment tomorrow. Lawmakers will then vote on Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) amendment that would block use of federal funds for the construction of ethanol blender pumps or storage facilities. Both will need 60 votes to pass."

The Senate's second ethanol vote may succeed, reports Steven Mufson: "The foes of ethanol subsidies are planning to try again in what could prove to be one of the toughest battles ever for the ethanol industry. Some oil industry lobbyists, never fans of the ethanol subsidy, say around 20 Democrats, who this week opposed Coburn for largely procedural reasons, could join with Republicans to eliminate the subsidies in a measure being drawn up by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). If successful, it would end a long streak of success for ethanol proponents, an odd assortment of a few big companies, Midwest corn farmers and national security strategists eager to reduce American reliance on imported petroleum."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/wonkbook-debt-negotiators-focusing-on-medicaid/2011/06/16/AG6in9WH_blog.html

[RC]

2. End the subsidies. Ethanol is at best a zero game.

It won't be able to compete on its own.
Like all bio-renewables, it drives up the cost of food world wide by using land and resources need to grow that food. Food production world wide is falling behind that what is needed to feed the hungry.
Wholesale food costs have doubled since 2004 because of bio-renewables. Ethanol played a big part in the country.

If you think ethanol from corn is so great, remember who pushed it in the beginning? That criminal war monger G.W. Bu$h. Part of his war against up commoners.

[jwirr]

3. It is a zero game where energy is concerned but this subsidy is a

win-win for the rethugs with red state farmers. Once again we lose.

[flpoljunkie]

4. Harkin made case that ethanol subsidies pale in comparison to oil, gas subsidies. My answer to that-

get rid of oil and gas subsidies, as well.

But not renewable energy--wind, solar, etc.

[AnnetteJacobs]

5. Suppressing ethanol means more demand of petroleum

So, it's not rocket science to figure out why Coburn (R-Oklahoma) is co-sponsoring it.
Ah, strange bedfellows...

[nykym]

6. Let the Corn farmers grow corn for food

Hemp is considered by some to be the plant that could greatly reduce the effects of global warming. One acre of hemp can produce every year the same amount of paper (of better quality) as three acres of trees do in twenty years. You can get biodiesel from hemp more efficiently than from corn. Biodegradable plastics can be made from hemp reducing the pressures on landfills. The list goes on and there’s tons of information on the internet about it.

Link: http://biodiesel-expansion.com/biodiesel-world/hemp-for-victory/

Industrial Hemp doesn't contain enough THC to get you high.

[Honeycombe8]

10. There's no shortage of corn, that I know of. In fact, it's used mainly for....

feed for animals, I think. The world is overflowing with corn. It's used in everything from plastics to you name it.

It's expensive to produce ethanol, so I think the govt had to use the subsidies to encourage that to start up, to see if it would be worthwhile.

It's also less polluting to the environment, to have it in fuel, I THINK. But ironically, I've read that ethanol actually makes fuel less efficient.

[flpoljunkie]

7. Senate votes to end ethanol subsidy by a vote of 73-27

[flpoljunkie]

8. Senate roll call on this vote.

Question: On the Amendment (Feinstein Amdt. No. 476 As Modified )
Vote Number: 90 Vote Date: June 16, 2011, 02:02 PM

Required For Majority: 3/5 Vote Result: Amendment Agreed to

Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 476 to S. 782 (Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011)

Statement of Purpose: To repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit.
Vote Counts: YEAs 73
NAYs 27


Grouped By Vote Position

YEAs ---73

Akaka (D-HI)
Alexander (R-TN)
Ayotte (R-NH)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Boozman (R-AR)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (R-MA)
Burr (R-NC)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Coburn (R-OK)
Collins (R-ME)
Coons (D-DE)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Graham (R-SC)
Hagan (D-NC)
Hatch (R-UT)
Heller (R-NV)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Lee (R-UT)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Manchin (D-WV)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Paul (R-KY)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Risch (R-ID)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Rubio (R-FL)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Tester (D-MT)
Toomey (R-PA)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Vitter (R-LA)
Warner (D-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs ---27

Blunt (R-MO)
Brown (D-OH)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coats (R-IN)
Cochran (R-MS)
Conrad (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Franken (D-MN)
Grassley (R-IA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kirk (R-IL)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Levin (D-MI)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Moran (R-KS)
Nelson (D-NE)
Portman (R-OH)
Roberts (R-KS)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Thune (R-SD)
Wicker (R-MS)

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=1&vote=00090

[DrToast]

9. Coburn deserves credit on this

I don't really like the guy, but he's one of the few Republicans who has actually been open to raising revenues to close the deficit. This pits him against some powerful interest groups.