Citing surpluses, House panel chairman calls for raising percentage of ethanol in gasoline by half

The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee thinks Congress should raise the percentage of ethanol in gasoline to 15 percent from 10 percent to avoid ethanol surpluses. Rep. Coillin Peterson, a Democrat bfrom Minnesota, made the suggestion Wednesday in an interview with Charles Abbott of Reuters.

However, the Republican leader of the committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, says federal mandates for ethanol hurt the overall economy: "It's going to keep pressure long-term on food prices." Current law gives a tax break to ethanol that is blended with 90 percent gasoline. The ethanol industry is hurting due to a combination of low oil prices and high ethanol output. (Read more)