From: Senator Jim Talent [Senator@talent.senate.gov] Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 9:56 AM To: erichvieth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Increase the miles per gallon standards Dear Mr. Vieth: Thank you for contacting me to voice your concerns regarding renewable energy. I appreciate the time you have taken to share your views with me, and I welcome the opportunity to respond. The last several years have shown the connection between affordable energy and economic growth. We cannot achieve any of our goals as a society-in education, health care, defense, or social services-without jobs and growth, and we cannot have that without reliable and affordable energy. That is why Congress, after years of delay, voted last year to pass an energy bill that supports research and production of energy from a number of sources, including traditional sources like oil, gas, coal and nuclear, as well as nontraditional, renewable sources like ethanol, hydrogen and wind. I agree completely with you about the importance of renewable energy. As Co-Chair of the Senate Biofuels Caucus, I helped put together a coalition of farm-state Senators to help advocate for including biofuels in the energy bill and other legislation. We successfully included a bipartisan amendment that will double renewable fuel production to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012, as well as an extension of the biodiesel tax credit and an expansion of the small ethanol producer tax credit. We also included a provision that gives incentives for gasoline stations to increase the availability of E-85, biodiesel, and natural gas at the pump. Expanding the use of renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel will create jobs in the agriculture sector, reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy and lower the price of gasoline. John Urbanchuk, a renowned agriculture expert and economist, conducted a study showing that blending ethanol at even a 10 percent level will reduce the retail price of conventional regular gasoline by 5%, or 6.6 cents per gallon based on 2002 prices, which would save consumers more than $3 billion per year. Renewable fuels are also more environmentally friendly than traditional gasoline. A 10% ethanol blend reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 25-30%, and it is estimated that in 2004 ethanol use in the U.S. reduced greenhouse gas emissions at a level equivalent of removing more than one million cars from the nation's highways. I also support provisions of the energy bill that will provide tax incentives for energy efficiency, conservation, traditional energy production and alternative energy. We have to have available and affordable energy if we care about the future, about a strong economy or a healthy environment. This energy bill is the first comprehensive energy policy Congress has ever passed; it is pro-production and pro-conservation, and encourages the development of both renewables and traditional sources. I don't see those goals as mutually exclusive at all. Again, thank you for contacting me. If I may be of further assistance, please don't hesitate to call or write. If you would like to contact me via e-mail, please visit http://talent.senate.gov/Contact/default.cfm Sincerely, Senator Jim Talent