Governors' Ethanol Coalition

The Honorable Bill Young
Chairman, House Appropriations Committee
2407 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Joe Skeen
Chairman, House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee
2302 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Young and Chairman Skeen:

I am writing to express the Coalition's strong support for the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee's $2 million allocation in its final appropriations bill to the Department of Energy's Technology Deployment Program to expand the nation's fueling sites for E85 fuel. This provision was included in the Senate's Full Committee mark and in the final bill passed by the Senate.

E85 is a renewable transportation fuel consisting of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. E85 was developed as a way to address the nation's pollution problems and dependence on foreign oil. Since auto manufacturers are making significant investments to bring E85 vehicle technology to the marketplace, there is an urgent need to establish a long-term E85 refueling infrastructure in order to achieve the energy security, environmental, and agricultural economic benefits of renewable fuels. Nearly two million E85 vehicles will be on the road by the end of this year.

The funding provided by the Senate is critical to the farming communities represented by the Coalition and equally important in expanding the nation's market for renewable fuels. On behalf of the Governors' Ethanol Coalition, I respectfully request that the House recede to the Senate provision providing an allocation of $2 million for E85 refueling capacity and include the Senate allocation for this amount in the final Interior Appropriations Conference Report.

Thank you for your consideration of the Coalition's request.