Budget-cutting fever puts ethanol subsidies at risk

Minnesota Public Radio
by Mark Steil, Minnesota Public Radio
March 4, 2011

Worthington, Minn. — As lawmakers look for places to cut spending, federal support for ethanol could become a tempting target. The U.S. Government Accountability Office says ethanol subsidies cost taxpayers billions of dollars and are not necessary.

Those subsidies are important to farmers in Minneesota, which is the nation's fourth largest ethanol producer.

The ethanol subsidy known as the "blenders credit" nearly died last year. But at the last moment, Congress renewed the 45-cent-a-gallon payout as part of the tax package it approved in December.

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