Governors' Biofuels Coalition

While everyone with a stake in the RFS has been waiting with bated breath for Sen. John Cornyn to release his bill overhauling the program, Democrats have decided they’re done waiting. On Thursday Sen. Tom Udall and Rep. Peter Welch will release their own. The Democratic bill doesn’t mean a collapse in talks on the Cornyn bill — Udall has been acting as a Democratic point person — just that the Dems wanted to put out their own version of what they thought should happen. ME’s best guess is that the bill will not please Team Ethanol: Welch has long wanted to cap ethanol blending at 9.7 percent, and Udall said in January his top priorities were promoting advanced biofuels and ensuring that open land isn’t plowed under for ethanol feedstock. RFS critics National Wildlife Federation CEO Collin O’Mara and former Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman will also participate in the announcement.

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