Renewable Fuels Association

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The Renewable Fuels Association is a trade and lobbying group for the US ethanol industry.

According to a report by Stephen Power in The Wall Street Journal, shortly prior to US President Barack Obama's inauguration, the RFA suggested a government bail-out for the biofuels industry, which was hit in late 2008 by the drop in oil prices:

The Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group for the U.S. ethanol industry, has spoken with staff members from Capitol Hill and President-elect Barack Obama’s team and “provided them with some ideas on how to craft the language of” an economic recovery package, said Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the RFA.
Hartwig said RFA has suggested a number of steps including setting up a $1 billion short-term credit facility so ethanol producers could finance current operations; a $50 billion federal loan guarantee program to finance investment in new renewable fuel production capacity and supporting infrastructure; and a requirement that any auto maker receiving federal aid only produce new vehicles that can run on any blend up to 85% ethanol, beginning with the 2010 model season.[1]

Hartwig is quoted as saying:

We’re not asking for a specific bailout, but rather, as a trade association, we’re providing ideas to an incoming Congress and a new administration about ways to bolster the domestic renewable fuel industry ... We’re doing what all trade organizations are doing - providing the Obama administration with ideas.[2]

Power added the following update to his article:

Hartwig calls back to add that his group offered ideas to the Obama team after being approached by a transition representative seeking the RFA’s input on what should be included in an economic recovery package; “We are not, I repeat, not asking for anything or lobbying for anything,” Hartwig said.[3]

Notes

  1. Stephen Power, "Ethanol Industry Lines Up for Washington Help", The Wall Street Journal, 16 December 2008, accessed February 2009.
  2. Stephen Power, "Ethanol Industry Lines Up for Washington Help", The Wall Street Journal, 16 December 2008, accessed February 2009.
  3. Stephen Power, "Ethanol Industry Lines Up for Washington Help", The Wall Street Journal, 16 December 2008, accessed February 2009.

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