Senator Jim Inhofe
Chairman, Environment & Public Works Committee
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Inhofe :

The undersigned organizations strongly urge your support of S. 791, the Reliable Fuels Act of 2003, during markup this week. The bill reflects an historic fuels agreement that will increase energy independence, protect air and water quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce oil imports, and stimulate rural economies. It represents a carefully crafted compromise between the ethanol and petroleum industries, the agriculture community and environmental groups. The Senate approved this agreement last year by a vote of 69-30 during consideration of the energy bill, S. 517.

The fuels agreement protects the environment, provides increased refiner flexibility, and
provides for increased growth for renewable fuels. Specifically, S. 791 would:

• Phase down the use of MTBE in the U.S. gasoline market over four years;
• Protect the air quality gains of the reformulated gasoline (RFG) program;
• Eliminate the requirement that RFG contain 2.0 wt. % oxygen; and
• Establish a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in which the part of our nation's fuel supply that is provided by renewable, domestic fuels such as ethanol, from both starch and cellulose, and biodiesel, would grow to five billion gallons by 2012.

The RFS will promote investment and job creation in rural America. Today, 70 ethanol facilities have the capacity to produce more than 2.75 billion gallons of ethanol per year, 10 new facilities are under construction, and dozens more are in the planning stages. The recent boom in ethanol plant construction has been led by farmers seeking to capture value-added markets for the commodities they grow. Today, 70% of the ethanol plants under construction are farmer-owned. Although in its early years of commercialization, the biodiesel industry is rapidly growing. More than 200 fleets currently use the fuel at a 20 percent blend or higher, and biodiesel will undoubtedly also play a role in lower-blend levels as a lubricity enhancer when ultra low sulfur diesel is marketed. The RFS lends certainty and confidence to the marketplace, encouraging investment in these value-added processing facilities.

Importantly, the fuels agreement will lower the cost of gasoline to consumers. A recent analysis found that enacting the fuels agreement would reduce refiner costs by .2 cents per gallon compared to current law. The RFS will drive down consumer costs even further by ensuring additional domestic fuel supplies will be available to replace MTBE.
Broad, bi-partisan support exists within the U.S. Congress and the Administration for this
negotiated resolution. We urge you to support this agreement during consideration of S. 791.

Sincerely,
Renewable Fuels Association
American Farm Bureau Federation
National Corn Growers Association
National Farmers Union
American Coalition for Ethanol
Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Women Involved in Farm Economics
Ethanol Producers and Consumers
Clean Fuels Development Coalition
National Grain Sorghum Producers
American Corn Growers Association
Soybean Producers of America
New Uses Council
American Soybean Association
National Biodiesel Board

ST. LOUIS OFFICE

WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE