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00000179-cdc6-d978-adfd-cfc6d7d40002Coverage of the issues, races and people shaping Kansas elections in 2016, including statewide coverage in partnership with KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, and High Plains Public Radio.

US Senator Sees Clinton Wavering On Renewable Fuel Standard Stance

Grant Gerlock
/
Harvest Public Media/File photo

An Iowa Republican is questioning Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s commitment to ethanol. 

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley says Hillary Clinton has been exploring an energy policy in California that focuses on carbon reduction and relies upon a market strategy.

That contrasts with the existing Renewable Fuel Standard, which mandates production of ethanol and other bio-based fuels. The RFS has been a boon to Corn Belt farmers.

Grassley says Clinton could be considering replacing the RFS with the California program. He points to Clinton’s pro-RFS position during the lead-up to the Iowa Caucuses.

"But if she told the Cedar Rapids Gazette that she is supporting RFS, and now she’s looking for a way out of supporting it, then she’s not the pro-ethanol that she wants us to believe," Grassley says.

The Clinton campaign told the news agency Reuters that the candidate doesn’t support replacing the Renewable Fuel Standard. But Grassley says Republican candidate Donald Trump’s support for the RFS has been unwavering.

Amy Mayer is a reporter based in Ames. She covers agriculture and is part of the Harvest Public Media collaboration. Amy worked as an independent producer for many years and also previously had stints as weekend news host and reporter at WFCR in Amherst, Massachusetts and as a reporter and host/producer of a weekly call-in health show at KUAC in Fairbanks, Alaska. Amy’s work has earned awards from SPJ, the Alaska Press Club and the Massachusetts/Rhode Island AP. Her stories have aired on NPR news programs such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition and on Only A Game, Marketplace and Living on Earth. She produced the 2011 documentary Peace Corps Voices, which aired in over 160 communities across the country and has written for The New York Times, Boston Globe, Real Simple and other print outlets. Amy served on the board of directors of the Association of Independents in Radio from 2008-2015.