Ethanol primer

A good recap of the ethanol debate is found in this wire service story. From the story:

If the current tax credits, grants and loan guarantees are extended, the package would cost taxpayers an additional $140 billion over the next 15 years. New proposals under consideration in Congress could raise the tab to $205 billion. either the White House nor Congress has spelled out how they plan to square the costs with other budget priorities. Paying for the incentive programs, which are supported by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, could clash with keeping the federal budget deficit under control. Democrats have vowed to abide by so-called pay-as-go rules -- offsetting new programs with spending cuts or new tax revenues.

TK: We'll see if the pay-go principle applies to ethanol the same as it applies to specialty crop block grants. Paying for the extension of an existing 51-cent-a-gallon ethanol tax credit, scheduled to expire in 2010, would cost the government $131 billion through 2022. President Bush has suggested the threshold of 35 billion gallons of alternative fuel by 2017, and Sen. Tom Harkin is backing a plan for 60 billion gallons by 2030. What's more, the celebrated use of cellulosic ethanol is an unproven technology would require heavy subsidies as well. The House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee haven't yet put paper to pencil and figured out how the treasury is going to pay for this ambitious plans.