H.R. 1687 and energy independence.

 
The Open Fuel Standard Act, which has been designated as H.R. 1687, is sponsored by Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), and cosponsored by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) and Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY). It has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, of which Congressman Shimkus is a senior member.

This bill will require automakers to make 95% of their fleet as flex fuel vehicles by 2017. The technology is simple and available - make the fuel system impervious to alcohol and moisture. This enables a vehicle to use non-petroleum base fuels, like high Ethanol content gasoline mixes (E85).

I am not against flex fuel vehicles, but am against a government mandate to make them. A flex fuel car will be, on average, $3000 more expensive than a non-flex fuel one. So all of us will pay for this folly that is done in the name of "energy independence".

Don't the dummies in Congress know that Ethanol is expensive to make, eats up billions of dollars in subsidies and drives up the cost of food?

The Ethanol subsidies are one of the targets in several deficit reduction plans. It's inefficient, wasteful, and needs to be cancelled, except that the ethanol lobby will not be denied its share of our taxes. Clearly mandating flex fuel vehicles goes towards continuing subsidizing Ethanol. I say: let's the free marked decide. It is possible that ways will be developed to produce Ethanol cheaply and not from food staples like corn. In this case there will be demand for flex fuel vehicles and no mandate will be necessary. If this doesn't happen we definitely won't need to extend the subsidies and pile on another mandate to justify them.

This is one stupid bill with a Republican being one of the sponsors. I hope that it is defeated by the House. I also wish that the Republican leadership took a stand on this and made clear that this bill will die.