NELSON GETS TO HEART OF ETHANOL DEBATE

Senate Agriculture Field Hearing Explores Food vs. Fuel Debate

August 18, 2008 – Today, Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson and Committee Chairman Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa brought the Senate Agriculture Committee to the heartland to get to the heart of the food vs. fuel debate. At the hearing at University of Nebraska, Omaha (UNO), Senator Nelson, a member of the agriculture committee, made the following remarks:

"I'll admit corn-based ethanol's not perfect, but it's been blamed for practically every problem under the sun. What's next? Summer colds? Computer viruses? Bad hair days?

"The focus here should be on the big picture: ethanol is the only domestically-produced alternative to oil-based transportation fuels. It is helping us in a big way to stretch the gasoline supply, save American consumers money at the pump, create jobs in rural communities, improve our rural and national economy—and to top it off—help wean us off imported oil.

"Ethanol is a major contributor to the U.S. gasoline supply. One study says it's the third largest, behind only Canada and Saudi Arabia, and ahead of Iraq and other OPEC countries. Today’s corn-based ethanol is paving the way for the next generation of biofuels produced from such materials as switchgrass and stover.

"To ethanol's critics I ask, 'Why farm out our energy needs to foreign suppliers when we’re producing so much clean-burning renewable fuel on our own farms?'

"We want to see all of agriculture survive and prosper, including grain farmers, livestock producers, ethanol producers and food processors, while benefiting the average American family, our local communities, our national energy security and the national economy. This is money wisely invested in the American Midwest and not in the Middle East.

"I'm looking forward to hearing our witnesses today provide the facts as we explore the relationships between food, fuel and feed. I'm especially pleased Chairman Harkin agreed to hold this important hearing in the heartland of America and I'm grateful he crossed over the Missouri River to do so."

The hearing titled, "Food, Feed, and Fuel Production: Today and Tomorrow" was hosted by UNO on campus in its Strauss Performing Arts Center. Witnesses included experts in agriculture, agricultural economics, food production, livestock production and renewable energy.

This year, the ethanol industry has been blamed for rising consumer food prices through a multi-million dollar advertising and lobbying campaign paid for by the food industry. Other critics have linked the use of ethanol in transportation fuels to rising costs of other goods and commodities.

Nelson said that the purpose of the agriculture committee hearing was to address the criticisms and present views on all sides of the issue.

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	Press Release	August 18, 2008
NELSON GETS TO HEART OF ETHANOL DEBATE Senate Agriculture Field Hearing Explores Food vs. Fuel Debate August 18, 2008 – Today, Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson and Committee Chairman Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa brought the Senate Agriculture Committee to the heartland to get to the heart of the food vs. fuel debate. At the hearing at University of Nebraska, Omaha (UNO), Senator Nelson, a member of the agriculture committee, made the following remarks: "I'll admit corn-based ethanol's not perfect, but it's been blamed for practically every problem under the sun. What's next? Summer colds? Computer viruses? Bad hair days? "The focus here should be on the big picture: ethanol is the only domestically-produced alternative to oil-based transportation fuels. It is helping us in a big way to stretch the gasoline supply, save American consumers money at the pump, create jobs in rural communities, improve our rural and national economy—and to top it off—help wean us off imported oil. "Ethanol is a major contributor to the U.S. gasoline supply. One study says it's the third largest, behind only Canada and Saudi Arabia, and ahead of Iraq and other OPEC countries. Today’s corn-based ethanol is paving the way for the next generation of biofuels produced from such materials as switchgrass and stover. "To ethanol's critics I ask, 'Why farm out our energy needs to foreign suppliers when we’re producing so much clean-burning renewable fuel on our own farms?' "We want to see all of agriculture survive and prosper, including grain farmers, livestock producers, ethanol producers and food processors, while benefiting the average American family, our local communities, our national energy security and the national economy. This is money wisely invested in the American Midwest and not in the Middle East. "I'm looking forward to hearing our witnesses today provide the facts as we explore the relationships between food, fuel and feed. I'm especially pleased Chairman Harkin agreed to hold this important hearing in the heartland of America and I'm grateful he crossed over the Missouri River to do so." The hearing titled, "Food, Feed, and Fuel Production: Today and Tomorrow" was hosted by UNO on campus in its Strauss Performing Arts Center. Witnesses included experts in agriculture, agricultural economics, food production, livestock production and renewable energy. This year, the ethanol industry has been blamed for rising consumer food prices through a multi-million dollar advertising and lobbying campaign paid for by the food industry. Other critics have linked the use of ethanol in transportation fuels to rising costs of other goods and commodities. Nelson said that the purpose of the agriculture committee hearing was to address the criticisms and present views on all sides of the issue. ###