Letter to the Editor

Your view: Two views on Talent - for

Thursday, August 31, 2006

It is election season, so perhaps negative campaign commercials are to be expected. But Senator Jim Talent's opponent is crossing the line when she tries to distort Talent's record on supporting ethanol and biodiesel.

The fact is that we would not have a renewable fuels standard today if it were not for the work of Jim Talent. In last year's energy bill, it was Senator Talent who authored the 7.5 billion gallon renewable fuels standard which requires the oil companies to add ethanol and biodiesel to our fuel supply. In the same bill, Senator Talent added the biodiesel tax credit extension, the 10-cents-

per-gallon small ethanol producer tax credit and the E-85 tax credit for ethanol fueling stations.

Talent's opponent opposed last year's energy bill. Perhaps she does not want to acknowledge Senator Talent's leading role on expanding the use of ethanol and biodiesel or the importance of utilizing more of our own resources to ease the growing energy crisis.

Missouri Farm Bureau, the state's largest organization of family farmers, endorses Senator Talent for re-election. So do other mainstream agricultural organizations in the state.

The negative commercials attacking Senator Talent's record on energy are without merit. His opponent knows better but apparently the facts don't matter.

Gary Branum

Missouri Farm Bureau Board Member, District 6