Agricultural News
Senator Lankford Say the Time Has Come to Repeal COOL and End RFS Mandate
Thu, 25 Jun 2015 11:17:07 CDT
U.S. Senator James Lankford said the Renewable Fuel Standard has outlived its usefulness and Country of Origin Labeling has hurt the situation more than it has helped. Lankford said he isn't opposed to ethanol, but he is opposed to RFS mandate. He said the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) conducted a study on corn based ethanol and the study found if the RFS mandate was pulled back, 13 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol would still be used voluntarily.
"Because the system is in place and people prefer that fuel, but what would go away is higher prices for it, because the mandate is actually driving up the price to the consumer and actually eliminating the amount of choice, Lankford said. "People that don't want to have ethanol, shouldn't be required to have it. Those that choose to use the fuel, it's in the system, it's already built in the cake at this point and it will continue to used for those areas and especially those regions where a lot of that corn-based ethanol is actually produced. It will be in our system for a very long time, if not forever at this point, but the mandate should go away quickly."
When the RFS was developed, Lankford said the situation was different. He said the conversation focused on energy independence and improving the environment. At that time, he said the U.S. was importing 60 percent of the nation's oil supply. With the recent finds of natural gas and oil reserves, he said today the U.S. is importing 27 percent of its oil needs. In terms of the environmental impact, Lankford said the Environmental Protection Agency has found ethanol increased ground based ozone.
The U.S. Senate looks to bring up legislation to repeal Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) soon. Lankford wants to get repeal as soon as possible. He has found COOL has impacted the markets and added expense to the consumer without additional gain.
Hays and the Senator also discussed the Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act. In advance of the Supreme Court Ruling- Senator Lankford thought the Court would rule the mandate illegal. However, the ruling out on Thursday morning ruled in favor of the President. Senator Lankford released a statement on the decision- saying "I have opposed Obamacare from day one and I am profoundly disappointed with today's Supreme Court decision. Obamacare continues to be a nightmare for millions of Americans who are facing higher premiums, higher deductibles, and fewer health care options.
"This ruling sets a difficult precedent for the future of legal interpretation. The court ruled that because the text of the law is 'inartful' in other areas, they assumed it was also inartful related to the state exchange. Oklahomans shouldn't pay the price for regulators' free interpretation. The problems with Obamacare run deeper than just drafting errors. Washington Democrats jammed this poorly written law through Congress five years ago and the resulting ambiguity is one of the many problems we will face for years to come."
Radio Oklahoma Network's Ron Hays interviewed Lankford in Washington D.C. this week. You can hear the full conversation including Lankford's take on his transition from the US House to the US Senate. Click or tap on the LISTENBAR below to listen to the full interview.
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