Please find below a comment from RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen on the current debt deal and the future of ethanol and energy tax policy under this agreement:

“The current deal to raise the debt limit does not include any revenue raising measures, including the compromise to reform ethanol tax policy. As this deal calls for a commission and a future budget framework, the possibility still exists for a more comprehensive dialogue about energy tax policy, including how to assure the continued evolution of the ethanol industry to new feedstocks and technologies, how to assure needed investments in vehicles and infrastructure to accommodate higher ethanol blends, and how to end the billions in subsidies and tax preferences still enjoyed by very mature and profitable petroleum fuels.  With the debt ceiling crisis looking as though it has been averted for now, we hope Congress and the Administration are now prepared to address the nation's worsening energy crisis, as oil and gasoline prices continue to rise and the nation's investment in home grown renewable fuels languishes.”