President Bush recently signed into law a new energy bill. Take a look at this summary of the major components of the bill You'll notice that tax provisions impacting the oil industry and mandates on renewable energy for private energy companies were removed from the bill. The entire South Dakota delegation is happy with the bill.
South Dakota's congressional delegation is hailing the energy bill signed by President Bush, saying its required wider use of ethanol will help reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who attended the bill signing ceremony at the Energy Department on Wednesday morning, said the U.S. has been heavily addicted to oil imported from sheiks and dictators around the world for decades.
"Today, in passing and signing into law a historic energy bill, our country took a big step toward breaking this addiction and instead relying on South Dakota and Midwestern farmers," Thune said Wednesday during a conference call.
Patrick Deneen has further comments. In his view this law sets into place a policy by which American food and energy concerns will no be in competition with each other.
The argument criticizing higher taxes as protection for the consumer is so laughable it makes one want to cry. People will be paying more for their energy, but because of the mandates for biofuel production, it will pinch at the supermarket and not most obviously at the pump. Bush won't get blamed for higher energy prices - people will likely fail to make the connection between the provisions of this bill and the rising cost of basic foodstuff. As this New York Times article of two days ago describes, "the nation [is] about to commit itself to decades of competition between food and fuel for the use of agricultural land."
I offer a friendly dissent. I'd rather have markets set price. If there is a shortage of oil, and there may be, then the best way to change people's behavior in the ways Dr. Pat would like is to let the market adjust the price. I'd prefer low taxes on energy low while also not distorting markets through subsidization of biofuels.
But Dr. Pat gives notice that energy policy and food policy are now intertwined. So we must also look at the new farm bill. The Rapid City Journal praises Sen. Thune's efforts on the newly forged agreement.
At least part of the credit for that forward progress on an important piece of legislation that will govern America’s agricultural, food and nutrition policies for the next five years goes to Sen. John Thune.
After months of partisan wrangling over a stalled farm bill, senators late last week passed, 79-14, a $288 billion bill that maintains much of the status quo of the last farm bill, but at least gives South Dakota farmers and ranchers the benefit of knowing what federal programs they might expect for the 2008 production year.
Thune helped forge an agreement to limit amendments to 20 on each side of the aisle, and he managed the floor debate on the bill for the Republicans.
The bill must now go to conference committee. As it stands right now, it is mostly a retread of old agreements. Of interest to South Dakota's hunters, there are strong conservation provisions in the bill. See this press release from Ducks Unlimited. For the hunting sector of our economy this is important as other provisions give farmers incentive to shift land from conservation to production. Hopefully these conservation proposals stay in the final version of the bill and make it into law.
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