Radio Iowa, IA
11-06-07
McCain & three Democrats appear at biofuels forum in Ames
By O.Kay Henderson
Four presidential candidates turned out Monday for a bioeconomy conference
at Iowa State University. John McCain, the lone Republican to appear at the
event, repeated his stand against ethanol subsidies.
"Yes, I oppose subsidies. Not just ethanol subsidies -- subsidies and not just in
Iowa either. I opposed them in my own state of Arizona," McCain said. "I am
proud of the conservative tradition that the government can sometimes best
serve the interests of the American people by knowing when to stay out of their
way." McCain argues the subsidies should be ended so more innovation can
occur in the renewable fuels industry.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said after Iraq, the nation's energy
independence is a top domestic and foreign policy priority. "I was recently in Fort
Dodge as they were talking about the biofuels plants. I said, 'Can you go in and
pull into a gasoline station and fill up?' The answer's no," Biden said. "There are
140,000 gas stations in the United Stats of America and only 1,300 have even
only a single pump that pumps E85 ethanol."
Democrat Dennis Kucinich warned that if the U.S. invades Iran, the price of a
gallon of gasoline here will go up to $10 a gallon. Kucinich also warned farmers
to take a second look at dedicating so much of the harvest to biofuels.
"If you create so much of an investment in biofuels and use so much corn for
biofuels, you drive up the cost of corn and maybe you distort agricultural markets
and unintentionally create a problem with food prices that have an effect on the
poor," Kucinch said.
Democrat Chris Dodd expanded the discussion beyond biofuels to ag trade. "I've
been a long advocate for lifting the embargo in Cuba," Dodd said. "I find it
somewhat ironic that you can't buy a cigar from Cuba, but you can do all the
business you want with China."
Dodd said opening up trade with Cuba would be a tremendous boost for Iowa
farmers. Another Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, was
scheduled to speak at the forum, but was running late and cancelled at the last
minute.