SLEEPER ISSUE - A member of the Senate Republican leadership is taking lead on an effort to freeze ethanol mandates that are cited as a cause of food-price inflation around the world. Sen. Kay Bailey HUTCHISON is party of a unique coalition forming among food producers, grocers, Hispanic businesses and environmentalists. KBH has an Op-Ed in Monday's Investor's Business Daily called "Undoing America's Ethanol Mistake":
"When Congress passed legislation to greatly expand America's commitment to biofuels, it intended to create energy independence and protect the environment. But the results have been quite different. America remains equally dependent on foreign sources of energy, and new evidence suggests that ethanol is causing great harm to the environment. ...
"As a recent TIME cover story pointed out, biofuel mandates increase greenhouse gasses and create incentives for global deforestation. ... Congress must take action. I am introducing legislation that will freeze the biofuel mandate at current levels, instead of steadily increasing it through 2022."