Ethanol's March on Washington to Bring Grassroots Voices to DC
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) is taking its grassroots voice to our nation’s capital through “Ethanol’s March on Washington,” to be held March 2-3. ACE members will met with key Members of Congress, their staff, and top Administration officials to advocate for ethanol with a strong, personal message.
“There has never been a more urgent time to bring a unified voice to Capitol Hill in support of ethanol,” said Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of ACE. “The way that the new Congress and new Administration treat a number of key biofuels issues – from the blend wall to low-carbon fuels legislation to the blender’s credit – could make or break ethanol’s future success. We want our ACE members to speak directly to these key decision-makers and show the grassroots strength of the ethanol industry.”
ACE has a diverse membership of more than 1500, including ethanol producers, farmers, lenders, rural electric cooperatives, industry vendors, and more. Collectively, these ACE members directly employ 1 million Americans and serve approximately 10 million more.
“These people are the true strength of the ethanol industry, and our leaders in Washington need to meet and hear the benefits of ethanol first-hand,” Jennings added.
Many critical policy issues are on the table in DC, including:
Congress and the Administration are developing an economic stimulus and recovery package which could contain provisions to support biofuels.
An arbitrary regulation limits ethanol use in gasoline to just 10 percent, and the looming E10 blend wall threatens not only the prosperity of corn ethanol but could bring investment in cellulosic biofuel to a halt.
As EPA and Congress work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they are considering some ethanol opponents’ computer models which predict “indirect land use changes” and accuse corn ethanol of not being environmentally friendly.
The 45 cent per gallon blender’s credit expires in 2010 and will need to be extended.
Brazil is lobbying to remove the duty on ethanol imports.
ACE is inviting its members to participate in this event. Capitol Hill meetings will take place Monday, March 2 and Tuesday, March 3, though participants are encouraged to arrive in DC on March 1. The event will include a “boot camp briefing” for grassroots lobbyists, meetings on the Hill with key Members of Congress and staff, and discussions with top administration officials and biofuels allies.
There is no registration fee, but participants are asked to provide their own travel and hotel accommodations to and while in Washington. ACE asks members to sign up for the fly-in by February 20; a registration form can be found online at Ethanol.org on the home page.
For more information about the event, contact Shannon Gustafson, Director of Strategic Projects, at [email protected] or 605-334-3381.
“The strength of the ‘ethanol lobby’ exists outside the Beltway, and it’s time for grassroots ethanol supporters from all over the country to gather in DC to stand up and fight for ethanol,” Jennings said.
“Ethanol’s March on Washington” Draft Agenda
Sunday, March 1 – arrive in Washington, DC
Monday, March 2
9:30am – Noon
Briefing Boot Camp
- Briefing by beltway insiders
- Q&A with ACE Legislative Counsel Eric Washburn
- Briefing by key Congressional staff
- Guess speaker address
1:00 – 2:00pm
Special presentations by top Administration officials