Daily News Update, Dec. 14, 2007

Energy Bill update

Senate passed a stripped-down energy bill late Thursday night. The House passed H.R. 6, the Energy Security and Independence Act of 2007, on Dec. 6 by a vote of 235-181.

The Senate was working to remove some of the more controversial items in the bill, including a $21 billion tax package, to facilitate passage. Expectations were that the final bill would continue to include a mandated increase to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). With Senate's approval of this package, it will likely come up for a vote in the House early next week.

Cattle producers, along with other livestock groups, continue to urge Congress to oppose increasing the government mandate for feedgrain-based ethanol.

"Congress needs to carefully examine the impacts of the current RFS mandate before moving forward with policy to increase that mandate even more," said NCBA's Manager of Legislative Affairs Jason Jordan. "Historically, we have seen drought and other natural disasters destroy cropland.  It would be ill conceived to enact policy without a mechanism to reduce the mandate in the event of a short corn crop."