WASHINGTON – The farm bill’s focus on energy has united oil companies and the ethanol industry, Congress Daily reports. Both groups oppose additional mandates in the bill to boost corn-based ethanol as a gasoline additive. The Renewable Fuels Association want lawmakers to wait a bit to see how implementation of the production mandate in the 2005 energy bill goes before imposing other mandates.

Along with the ethanol industry, oil industry officials say the fact that the automobile industry has promised to produce more flexible fuel vehicles should be taken into account before additional mandates are imposed. Oil officials also point out that another ethanol mandate would increase the cost of corn and gasoline, as well as raise questions about how much ethanol-blended fuel would be available.

“What we're advocating is everyone take a deep breath and not jump off the next ethanol bridge,” Charles Drevna, executive vice president of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, told the news source.

Two Senate bills already have proposed a renewable fuels mandate of 60 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel by 2030, and also to require major oil companies to have pumps carrying E-85 fuel at about half of their gasoline stations across the country within 10 years.

Lobbyists are already ready for a debate on renewable energy in the farm bill because of public interest in high oil and gasoline prices. “I don't think there's any question” that energy is a more prominent issue in this year's farm bill debate, John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute, told the new source.