Representative John Shimkus, (R-IL)
“Tell me what we have done to reduce our imports of foreign fuel. One thing is ethanol.”

Senator Richard Lugar, (R-IN)
“An energy policy to end the over-reliance on oil imports is not optional, it is a national security imperative.” “Cutting ethanol production now would strangle in the cradle our nascent energy security efforts, leaving us more vulnerable to high oil prices that are hurting the economy and to the political whims of governments that control 80 percent of our world oil reserves.”

U.S. Senator John Thune, (R-SD)
“It is important that the federal government look at expanding consumer access to ethanol by studying and approving higher blends of ethanol for use in non-flex-fuel vehicles.”

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan, (D-ND)
“With blends above 10%, we can achieve significant opportunities to reduce air pollution and to increase gas mileage.”

Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency
“We’re trying to move to a different fuel mix in this country, corn-based ethanol is here, part of our mix now.”

Tom Vilsack, US Agriculture Secretary
“The President has been very, very clear about this. He wants the biofuel industry to take hold in this country. He wants us to break our addiction to foreign oil. The only way we can do that is by producing our own fuel and the biofuels industry is the way we are going to do that.”

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu
“I’ve been told it costs about $100 in gaskets and fuel lines to turn a car so it can go all the way to E85,” Chu says. “Retrofitting [an existing car to burn E85] is very expensive, but a new car, if it only costs $100 out of $15,000, wouldn’t it be nice to put in those fuel lines and gaskets so that we can use any ratio we want?”

President Barack Obama
“We must remove longstanding artificial barriers to market expansion necessary for large volumes of renewable fuels to find a place in America’s fuel system.” “Advanced renewable transportation fuels will be one of the nation’s most important industries in the 21st century.” “Combined with improved energy efficiency, biofuels are the primary near-term option for insulating consumers against future oil price shocks and for lowering the transportation sector’s carbon footprint.” “The direct consumer benefit has been well documented and producing and using more biofuels today means an immediate reduction in oil imports in addition to an immediate increase in domestic employment.”

Dr. Mark Cooper, Consumer Federation of America
“This [looking to mid-level ethanol blends] is exactly the kind of long-term, out-of-the-box thinking we need so that we can address the three fundamental issues – consumer pocketbook, national security, and the environment. That will get us a solution quicker and cheaper than the path we’re currently on.”

Brett Hulsey, Better Environmental Solutions
“Ethanol blends reduce cancer-causing benzene, heart attack-causing soot pollution, and deadly carbon dioxide. Moderate ethanol blends can be delivered to existing vehicles with existing infrastructure, so we can make immediate reductions in carbon dioxide and other emissions without waiting for next generations.”