Bio-fuels mandate bill collapses in U.S. Congress

Diesel Fuel News, Nov 25, 2002

With a more free-market-oriented Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate this month, agreement on a bio-fuels mandate for U.S. gasoline and diesel died--not only this year but maybe for the next Congress as well. A proposed Senate energy bill would have forced the blending of 5 billion gallons of ethanol or biodiesel into gasoline or diesel, but this scheme (hatched while the Democrats controlled the Senate) was one major reason for a collapse of House-Senate negotiations over a U.S.

energy bill. The House never passed any bio-fuel-blend mandate in its version of the energy bill. Meanwhile, the Senate never held public hearings on its mandate scheme, instead presenting a bill as a fait accompli. This back-room scheme was engineered by corn-state lobby groups, and captained by U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who was the Senate majority leader until the Republicans retook the Senate.