By Joe Hadsall
jhadsall@joplinglobe.com
Standing near a sign that advertised gasoline for $3.79 a gallon, Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman called for a repeal of Missouri’s 10 percent ethanol mandate, which she said is partly responsible for high gas and food prices.
“A lot of families are hurting because of gas prices,” Steelman said Tuesday at the Snak-Atak convenience store at Stone’s Corner in Airport Drive. “There have been some serious unintended consequences to come from the ethanol mandate.”
Steelman outlined her energy policy as part of her gubernatorial campaign in the Aug. 5 primary election against U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof and two other Republican candidates. In addition to repealing the ethanol mandate, she called for:
Creation of a commission dedicated to exploring alternative energy and energy independence.
$500 tax credits for people who buy flex-fuel vehicles.
Construction of oil refineries in Missouri.
The ethanol mandate went into effect in January in Missouri. Since then, gas prices have gone up 35 percent, Steelman said.
The price of corn has risen by 75 percent since the mandate, she said, and the costs are hurting farmers more than helping them.
Hulshof also is calling for an increase in the use of alternative fuels, but he does not agree with repealing the ethanol mandate.
“He believes in exploring every domestic resource that we can,” Hulshof spokesman Scott Baker said. “This is about lessening our dependence on foreign sources, and keeping the mandate for home-grown fuels is part of that.”
Steelman’s position on this issue has changed somewhat since April. The Springfield News-Leader reported in April that she favored the mandate but had “reservations about government manipulation of the economy.”
But two months of campaigning, hearing people’s concerns and studying the mandate have showed her that it wasn’t working, Steelman said.
“There were some that suggested the mandate might work in the short term,” she said. “But I think the short term is over. It didn’t work, and it’s definitely causing problems in our economy.”
Her appearance was attended by about 10 people, including Vicki Covington, 48, of Joplin. She said her family has felt the crunch of high fuel prices.
“We have quit going places,” Covington said. “We are riding bicycles, combining trips and doing what we can. Gas prices are just too high.”
Covington said she liked what she heard about Steelman’s energy policy.
“I don’t know if repealing the mandate will actually lower gas prices,” she said. “But it should help. It sounds like a good idea.”
Offshore drilling
Missouri’s principal Republican gubernatorial candidates are in favor of federal efforts to allow offshore drilling for oil.
“Congress should have already allowed it,” Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman said Tuesday. “The people of the state want a bold solution to this problem.”
U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof also favors offshore drilling.
