Ethanol mandate information. Phyllis Mains -------------------- ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY DAILY (portion) Tuesday, July 19, 2005 5. ENERGY POLICY House agriculture panel to weigh effect of ethanol mandate on industry Alex Kaplun, E&E Daily reporter As industry groups and Midwestern lawmakers begin to press energy bill conferees to accept a higher ethanol mandate, the House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing this week to examine the influence of renewable fuels on the domestic agriculture industry. A spokeswoman for the committee said the hearing will focus on the domestic production ramifications of an 8 billion gallon renewable fuel standard, which is included in the Senate version of the energy bill. With the House energy bill calling for the production of only 5 billion gallons of ethanol by 2012, the size of the RFS mandate is one of the key issues that the energy conference must resolve in the next few weeks. Several members of the Agriculture Committee -- including Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) -- last month introduced a separate House bill calling for the 8 billion mandate and have said they would try to use the legislation to put pressure on House leaders to adopt the Senate's position. And about two dozen agriculture and ethanol industry groups have sent a letter to the conferees urging them to back the 8 billion gallon mandate. The letter largely rehashes some of the arguments made by the industry in recent months concerning increased ethanol production, such as reduction of both foreign oil dependence and gasoline prices. A similar letter was also sent to conferees this week by the 31 members of the Governors' Ethanol Coalition. The governors asked lawmakers to not only to adopt the 8 billion gallon standard but also to approve a series of Senate incentives for biofuels development and production. Schedule: The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m on Thursday, July 21, in 1300 Longworth. Witnesses: A witness list has not been finalized but Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) is expected to testify. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/