SJR 16: Encouraging the federal government to end the federal subsidy of ethanol, and requesting the Congress of the United States to mandate that land currently used to grow corn for the production of ethanol be returned to its natural state.
00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16 01 Encouraging the federal government to end the federal subsidy of ethanol, and 02 requesting the Congress of the United States to mandate that land currently used to 03 grow corn for the production of ethanol be returned to its natural state. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS it is usually inappropriate for one state to interfere in the resource 06 development of another state; and 07 WHEREAS California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South 08 Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin are among the top 20 states that produce ethanol; and 09 WHEREAS both United States Senators who represent those states voted against 10 including revenue from oil production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in S.Con.Res. 11 23, the fast-track budget reconciliation bill in the United States Senate, thereby interfering 12 with the resource development of Alaska; and 13 WHEREAS 6.2 percent of the nation's corn crop is used to produce ethanol; and 14 WHEREAS growth of the federal budget deficit is harmful to the nation's economy; 15 and
01 WHEREAS the federal government subsidizes the production of ethanol at 5.3 cents a 02 gallon, resulting in a reduction in federal excise tax receipts of over $1,000,000,000 during 03 fiscal year 2002, and resulting in a loss to the Federal Highway Trust Fund between 1979 and 04 2000 of between $7,500,000,000 and $11,000,000,000; and 05 WHEREAS the cost of that subsidy is expected to grow each year; and 06 WHEREAS 49 percent of ethanol is produced by four corporations, and 35 percent is 07 produced by Archer Daniels Midland alone, causing the federal ethanol subsidy to be a 08 corporate welfare program imposed on consumers and drivers across the nation; and 09 WHEREAS the federal mandate for oxygenated fuels has increased gasoline prices 10 across the country; and 11 WHEREAS the use of ethanol leads to emissions of acetaldehyde, a toxic air 12 pollutant, and to carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas; and 13 WHEREAS the National Research Council recently concluded that including ethanol 14 in gasoline may have little overall impact on reducing ozone formation; and 15 WHEREAS ethanol leads to a decrease of approximately three percent in vehicle 16 energy efficiency; and 17 WHEREAS it takes nearly as much energy from fossil fuels to produce ethanol as the 18 ethanol supplies, even if efficient methods of farming and production are used; and 19 WHEREAS the General Accounting Office has concluded that the ethanol tax 20 incentive has done little to promote energy security; and 21 WHEREAS the corn grown to produce ethanol is grown on lands that were once wild, 22 supporting many species of animals, insects, plants, and birds; and 23 WHEREAS those who value wilderness and natural lands gather solace in knowing 24 Alaska's resources are not being developed for profit, the good of Alaska's people, or for 25 national energy security; 26 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages the federal 27 government to end the federal subsidy of ethanol; and be it 28 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests the Congress of 29 the United States to mandate that land currently used to grow corn used for the production of 30 ethanol be returned to its natural state for the enjoyment of those Alaskans who might choose 31 to travel to these areas and for the benefit of the environment.
01 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President 02 of the United States; the Honorable Spencer Abraham, United States Secretary of Energy; the 03 Honorable Thad Cochran, Chair, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and 04 Forestry; the Honorable Pete Domenici, Chair, U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 05 Resources; the Honorable James Inhofe, Chair, U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and 06 Public Works; the Honorable Bob Goodlatte, Chair, U.S. House Committee on Agriculture; 07 the Honorable W. J. "Billy" Tauzin, Chair, U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce; 08 the Honorable Richard Pombo, Chair, U.S. House Committee on Resources; the Honorable 09 Barbara Boxer and the Honorable Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senators from California; the 10 Honorable Bob Graham and the Honorable Bill Nelson, U.S. Senators from Florida; the 11 Honorable Richard Durbin and the Honorable Peter Fitzgerald, U.S. Senators from Illinois; 12 the Honorable Carl Levin and the Honorable Debbie Stabenow, U.S. Senators from Michigan; 13 the Honorable Norm Coleman and the Honorable Mark Dayton, U.S. Senators from 14 Minnesota; the Honorable Kent Conrad and the Honorable Byron Dorgan, U.S. Senators from 15 North Dakota; the Honorable Tom Daschle and the Honorable Tim Johnson, U.S. Senators 16 from South Dakota; the Honorable Maria Cantwell and the Honorable Patty Murray, U.S. 17 Senators from Washington; and the Honorable Russell Feingold and the Honorable Herb 18 Kohl, U.S. Senators from Wisconsin; the Governors and Legislatures of the States of 19 California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, 20 and Wisconsin; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. 21 Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska 22 delegation in Congress.