On the same day as the “Hearing in the Heartland” event took place in Des Moines, Iowa to gather comments to submit to the EPA regarding their 2014 proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rules, Americans United for Change launched its next in a series of TV ads asking rural Americans to join the thousands of citizens around the country who have spoken out on the RFS.
The ad called “Why Mess With Success,” began airing yesterday in Washington DC, Cedar Rapids, IA, and the Quad Cities. The ad makes the closing argument that the RFS has been invaluable for rural economies the last decade, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions in new wealth while saving consumers millions at the pump. Which is why it makes no sense to change course so drastically by gutting the RFS.
Brad Woodhouse, President, Americans United for Changes said of the ad campaign and the RFS, “It’s an open secret that Big Oil has spent millions of dollars trying to put out of business their 70 cent cheaper and cleaner renewable fuels competition. If Washington does what Big Oil wants and strips apart the Renewable Fuel Standard, it’ll be a case study in fixing what isn’t broke that would make the inventors of New Coke blush. While the U.S. economy has been on a wild ride the last decade, rural communities that seized opportunities in the renewable fuels industry have seen nothing but growth, new jobs, new wealth, and more reasons for their children to stay.”
“That’s why the choice before the EPA should be an easy one: either continue to go forward creating thousands of jobs that can’t be outsourced and revitalizing rural economies, or backward,” continued Woodhouse. “Either continue going forward weaning the nation off its addiction to overseas oil, or backwards. Continue making innovations in next generation renewable fuel sources that will build on its success of meeting 10 percent of the nation’s fuel needs, or discourage it. Continue going forward in cutting down carbon emissions harmful to the environment, or backwards and watch as already common oil-industry related disasters become even more routine. Continue giving consumers cheaper alternatives at the pump, or take them away.”
“At this 11th hour, it is critical that the millions of Americans who have benefited from the RFS — from farmers to businesses that serve ethanol industry workers, to consumers – to tell the EPA what’s at stake for them if Big Oil’s bottom line is put ahead of rural America. If you ask the taxpayers, Big Oil gets enough special treatment from Washington already – they don’t need another giveaway,” concluded Woodhouse.