In a sharply worded letter to Davis, the Iowa senator expressed his disappointment that the governor's decision fails to immediately open wide the door for ethanol to give California motorists a clean-burning fuel alternative. The decision will continue to put consumers and residents at risk of contaminated ground water caused by the use of MTBE.
In the March 26 letter, Grassley expressed his profound regret over the governor's failure to consult Grassley in advance of his decision. Last month, the Iowa senator wrote to Davis to explain how 500 million gallons of ethanol could be produced almost immediately to displace 80 percent of the harmful MTBE, the oxygenate preferred by oil companies.
"Instead of standing up to Big Oil, which is ruining much of California's water supply, the governor of the most populous state in the nation bought Big Oil's arguments, lock, stock and barrel," said Grassley.
Grassley advised that he will lead the fight against any effort to eliminate the Clean Air Act requirements for the use of oxygenated fuel in the nation's smog-ridden areas.
"I want to work to promote a domestically produced, clean-burning, renewable fuel for California," said Grassley. "It would help boost corn prices in the Midwest; America's corn farmers could provide up to 500 million gallons of ethanol this year."
A leading farm advocate in Congress, Grassley sponsored legislation and orchestrated the strategy to pass and enact a seven-year extension of the federal ethanol program which currently adds $4.5 billion a year to farm income.