Money in peril for new ethanol pumps

Des Moines Register
11:21 PM, May. 19, 2011
Written by PHILIP BRASHER

Washington, D.C. — A program that would subsidize installing new ethanol pumps at rural service stations could be on the chopping block as lawmakers look to slash the U.S. Agriculture Department's budget.

Next week, a House appropriations subcommittee will unveil a proposed 2012 budget for the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration that will cut overall spending for the agencies by 13 percent as part of a Republican effort to shrink the federal deficit.

The Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, was cut by 25 percent this year, and backers want to avoid another reduction.

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