Feinstein Leads Effort to Raise Gas Taxes, Increase Oil Imports, Cut Jobs, and Expose Californians to more Carcinogens in Gasoline

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Continuing her long support for oil industry interests at the cost of clean, domestic, renewable fuels, California Senator Dianne Feinstein announced today she has taken yet another step to raise taxes, increase reliance on imported oil, reduce jobs, and increase pollution with her ongoing effort to severely limit incentives for the production and use of domestic biofuels.

According to the California Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, Senator Feinstein has long harbored what many observers feel is an irrational vendetta against ethanol, despite representing a state that consumes 20% of the nation's gasoline, with more than 60% of that gasoline coming from imported oil. Because all California gasoline contains ethanol, her successful attack on the ethanol program announced today will raise motor fuel taxes immediately for all California motorists after July 31st.

While claiming her opposition to ethanol was because of the use of corn, it has been an attack against all ethanol, including capping the incentives for cellulose and algae. Furthermore, it also denies any incentives for 85 percent ethanol blends (E85) which are an approved alternative fuel under federal law. Several California companies currently selling E85 in over 50 stations face immediate shutdown after July 31st which the Senator was made aware of but ignored the California job losses.

"If you were trying to stifle biofuel technology, increase reliance on imported oil and ethanol, eliminate jobs, and increase pollution, you could not have done a better job than this," said Joe Irvin, Executive Director of the California Ethanol Vehicle Coalition. "Senator Feinstein continues to talk about saving taxpayers money when she just pushed through this $1.1 Billion increase in the federal fuel tax to California consumers by raising the tax on ethanol blends from 13.6 cents to 18.1 cents. We knew Congress was responsive to the oil industry's needs but even this surprises us -- all of the petroleum industry's subsidies remain intact. "It makes one wonder why, if this is really about reducing the deficit, the Senator does not put this kind of effort into reducing petroleum subsidies and pollution. She could probably be very effective," he said. (See Full Release)

SOURCE California Ethanol Vehicle Coalition