Cruz meets with workers at bankrupt refinery on future of ethanol mandate

Fuel Fix:
Sen. Ted Cruz is heading to Philadelphia Wednesday to meet with workers at an oil refinery that has become the centerpiece of an ongoing debate on ethanol.

The Texas senator has been urging Congress to rewrite ethanol regulations, to reduce costs for refineries like the one in Philadelphia he says are struggling under the high costs of complying with a federal mandate requiring ethanol is blended into the nation's fuel supply.

The owner of the Philadelphia refinery, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, cited the federal mandate when it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month.

Cruz, who is holding up the confirmation of Trump's nominee for agriculture undersecretary until he gets a deal, says he is seeking a solution that would reduce costs for refineries in his home state of Texas while maintaining ethanol demand.

"We can have a solution that's a win for those corn farmers but also doesn't bankrupt refineries and drive a bunch of blue-collar workers out of work," Cruz said earlier this month.

But one idea he is selling, of putting a cap on the renewable fuel credits refineries buy to meet the mandate, has already been rejected by Midwestern senators, who maintain it would undermine the ethanol market.
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If you believe in the free market you should not back an ethanol mandate.  If the product is of any value to consumers it would not need a mandate. 

My interest is mainly as a consumer.  I would prefer to have the choice of not buying ethanol.  I will be picking up two chainsaws this afternoon that had to go to the repair shop because ethanol fouled the fuel feed.  In the past, this has cost me around $50 per saw to make them functional again.  That is a bargain compared to other shops that charge as much as $100 per saw for the repair.

Why should I have to put up with such maintenance costs to enrich corn farmers in the midwest?  Ethanol is also less efficient for autos too.  We would improve mileage by eliminating it.

We need a consumer revolt against this mandate.  There is no justification for it now that the scarcity of fossil fuels has been eliminated.

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