Before presidential debate, new TV ad encourages candidates to oppose ethanol subsidies
For Immediate Release
June 10, 2011
Contact:
Matthew Cain, 202-222-0751, [email protected]
Taylor Barden, 202-546-8500 ext. 111, [email protected]
Before presidential debate, new TV ad encourages candidates to oppose ethanol subsidies
Ad says subsidies ‘cost $6 billion but make no sense’
Washington, D.C.—Less than a week before the first Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire, two public interest groups, environmental advocate Friends of the Earth and budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense, released a TV ad today asking whether presidential candidates will oppose the $6 billion federal subsidy paid each year to ethanol blenders.
The ad, “No Sense,” will air this week in New Hampshire, leading up to Monday’s Republican presidential candidates’ debate at St. Anselm College. The ad can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fOyI2mhTd8
“Corn ethanol is not living up to its promise,” said Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth. “Ethanol production requires tons of petrochemicals and diverts land that could be better used for growing traditional food. This country’s ethanol tax credits have increased food prices around the world and made climate pollution even worse.”
“Ethanol subsidies are a ridiculous waste of taxpayer dollars and do little more than line the pockets of big oil companies,” said Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. “Republican candidates have to decide whether they put America’s taxpayers before their personal political gain.”
Ethanol subsidies are one of the few issues on which candidates have shown differences in this campaign. New Hampshire debate attendees Ron Paul and Herman Cain have come out against the subsidies, while Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have favored continuing them. Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum have expressed interest in phasing the subsidies out over a period of years.
Voters can write letters to the editors of their local newspapers, telling the candidates to oppose ethanol subsidies via http://www.greenscissors.com/ethanol
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Friends of the Earth is fighting to defend the environment and create a more healthy and just world. Our current campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change, keeping toxic and risky technologies out of the food we eat and products we use, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.
Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) is a nonpartisan budget watchdog in Washington that has been advocating for more responsible fiscal policies for more than 15 years. Known for our work on so-called earmarks, and as the original whistle-blower on the “Bridge to Nowhere,” TCS budget experts specialize in identifying wasteful or duplicative government spending. TCS draws on a wide range of expertise from across the political spectrum to put forth reforms and budget cuts that both conservatives and liberals support.