Missouri senator takes issue with President Obama's request for money to make electric co-ops greener

President Obama's $4 billion fiscal 2014 request for rural electric cooperatives is designed to push the co-ops, which get about three-fourths of their electricity from the burning of coal, into using cleaner energy. It calls for $1 billion for upgrading fossil-fuel plants with environmentally friendly equipment and $3 billion for green energy projects. That's a big mistake that will hurt the poorest rural Americans the most, says Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri.

Blunt, left, said he hopes the allocation is a “one-time mistake and [the co-ops] will survive and try to provide energy at the level they can provide it and people can afford,” reports reports Agri-Pulse, a Washington newsletter.  Blunt said there isn't a high enough demand for bio-energy, especially in rural areas where "the last people to get the energy-efficient refrigerator, the last person to get insulation in the ceiling – they’re the ones affected the most." Agri-Pulse is subscription only, but a free trial is available here.