St. Paul – During a press event at the State Capitol today, leaders from Minnesota’s agriculture and renewable energy community took issue with Al Franken’s comments that he would have voted to kill the 2005 Energy Bill, which included the first-ever Renewable Fuels Standard that helped spur the ethanol and biofuels boom in Minnesota.

 

Franken, who has routinely criticized Senator Coleman’s support for the bill despite its groundbreaking investment in renewable fuels, recently stated he would have voted against the bill if he had been in the Senate when it was considered – despite the fact that over 20 Democrats, including Barack Obama and Mark Dayton, voted for it.

 

“Al Franken’s criticism of Senator Coleman’s strong leadership in passing the 2005 Energy Bill is disappointing to all of us who put everything we had into passing that bill into law,” said Andy Quinn, a corn and soybean farmer who was a founder of Bushmills Ethanol in Atwater.  “The 2005 Energy Bill was a dream come true for tens of thousands of Minnesotans.  I can tell you that the ethanol plant we built and the jobs we created would not have been possible without that bill.  When it has been in the best interests of Minnesota and renewable energy, Norm Coleman has always been there.”   

 

“As anyone involved in the renewable energy discussion knows, the passage of the 2005 Energy bill was critically important to our energy independence,” said Ron Obenmoller, a corn and soybean farmer who is also a board member of MinnesotaSoybean Processors.  “Al Franken is simply wrong on the facts – and wrong on his understanding of the importance of the 2005 Energy Bill.  His continued opposition to this bill as nothing more than a Big Oil bill is not honest with the facts or fair to any of us who so strongly supported this legislation.  It’s also not being truthful with the people of Minnesota.”

 

“ Without that Energy Bill – which was supported by 74 Senators, Democrats and Republicans alike, including Senator Barack Obama – we would not have the first-ever renewable fuels standard, a first-ever biodiesel tax credit, or critical tax credits for wind energy, small ethanol producers, or E-85,” said Hubert Fixsen, Vice President, Board of Directors for Bushmills Ethanol.  “We would not have critical incentives to create energy from clean coal and nuclear power that help control power costs for our homes and businesses.  And we would not have many of the conservation measures that that bill put in place.”

 

“The 2005 Energy Bill really got things started in the right direction.  Before this bill, many involved in renewable energy were struggling to survive,” said Randy Doyal, CEO of Al-Corn Clean Fuels.  “We have Senator Coleman to thank for all that we have been able to accomplish as result of his support for renewable energy and the 2005 energy bill. “  

 

Franken Would Have Voted Against Bill Containing The First-Ever Renewable Fuels Standard. “Coleman spokesman Friedrich said Franken doesn’t offer much in the way of new proposals, and that Colman has consistently supported efforts to support renewable energy. ‘[Sen. Coleman] co-authored and helped pass the first-ever Renewable Fuels Standard as part of the 2005 Energy Bill,which spurred the current ethanol and biofuels boom in Minnesota,’ Friedrich said. The 2005 major energy bill included some important provisions, but Franken said he would have still voted against it. ‘It gave billions of dollars of tax subsidies to the oil companies, but it did promote ethanol, so it would have been a tough vote,” the Democrat said. ‘I would have tried to get the billions of dollars of tax subsidies out.”   (Brad Swenson, “Campaign 2008: Franken touts energy proposals,” Bemidji Pioneer, August 16, 2008)

 

First-Ever National Renewable Fuels Standard Included In 2005 Energy Bill. “President Bush signed into law on Aug. 8 the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which took four years to move through Congress. The signing ceremony was held at a national energy laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M.  The new law’s Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) requires the blending of 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels like ethanol and biodiesel into the nation’s fuel supply by 2012.”  (Sonja Hillgren, “President Bush Signs Energy Bill,” Farm Journal, August 8, 2005) 

 

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