Ethanol War: The Coburn Amendment (redux) and Thune-Klobuchar duke it out on the Senate floor

In Washington, the Renewable Fuels Association is tipping that the United States Senate will schedule another vote on the Coburn Amendment, to immediately repeal the ethanol tax credit (VEETC), and at the same time have a vote on the Ethanol Reform and Deficit Reduction Act  offered by Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

Under the Thune/Klobuchar proposal, the current ethanol tax incentive, known as VEETC, would transition to a variable tax incentive tied to the price of oil. Additionally, the bill would make available funds saved funding 53,000 blender pumps. The bill would also extend current tax incentives for the next generation of ethanol technologies using cellulosic and other feedstocks.