Ethanol mandate
One of the underreported stories of the Iowa presidential caucus was that, through the victory of Sen. Ted Cruz, the ethanol mandate suffered a huge political loss.
The ethanol mandate is the requirement that a percentage of ethanol be used as a fuel additive in the gasoline of our cars.
This requirement increases the market share of corn produced in Iowa and other farm states. It costs the United States taxpayers $2 billion a year, and environmentalists warn against the resulting land loss and pollution from the increase in corn production.
It’s essentially corporate welfare masking as a federal energy mandate. Since Cruz vocally opposed the continuation of the ethanol mandate, as a counterattack the agricultural lobbyists poured millions of dollars to defeat Cruz in his bid for the GOP presidential nomination.
The corporate lobbyists passionately argued that phasing out the ethanol boondoggle will cost Iowa thousands of jobs. They stated that no presidential candidate actively campaigning in Iowa could win by advocating in favor of ending the ethanol requirement.
Fortunately, Iowa Republican voters rejected the lobbyists’ arguments, including the GOP Iowa governor. Despite the odds, Cruz won the Iowa caucus.
Hopefully, this defeat of corporate welfare will lead to the Congress ending the wasteful, environmentally damaging ethanol fuel mandate.
Tim Seale, Miami
This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Ethanol mandate."