In a new opinion piece, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas lays out his case for doing away with the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), saying Washington shouldn’t be picking winners and losers but that the ethanol industry can still thrive in a free market.
“By this point in the campaign, many readers will have seen the furious coordinated effort being waged by Democrats and big-money lobbyists, who are together spending hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to convince Iowans that I oppose ethanol,” the 2016 GOP presidential contender wrote in the Des Moines Register. “Their charges are utter nonsense.”
Mr. Cruz is calling for a phase-out of the RFS, which mandates that a certain level of corn-based ethanol be blended into nearly every gallon of gasoline sold in the country — an issue intensely important for Iowa farmers.
“No Washington favoritism for oil and gas, for wind, for solar, or for anyone else,” he wrote. “We should phase out the Renewable Fuel Standard, end all energy subsidies, and ensure a level playing field for everyone.”
He said his administration would vigorously enforce antitrust laws to ensure the oil and gas industry can’t block market access for ethanol producers and that he would rescind Environmental Protection Agency regulations limiting gasoline with higher blends of ethanol.
“Finally, as president, I will end the death tax — which unfairly burdens farmers and ranchers and is a tax on the American dream — and I will rescind the Waters of the United States rule, which would wrongly subject up to 97 percent of Iowa farmland to the burdensome rules of the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers,” Mr. Cruz wrote.
“We can be principled and fight for Iowa farmers at the same time. And, as president, you have my word that is what I will do,” he wrote.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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