Scott Walker calls for phase-out of renewable fuel standard ‘over time’

By David Sherfinski, The Washington Times

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker called for a gradual phase-out of a federal mandate that has boosted Iowa’s corn market, saying market access should eventually make such a standard unnecessary.

“In my state, for example, when I ran — we don’t have an ethanol mandate. I was asked about an ethanol mandate; I didn’t support it,” Mr. Walker said during a question-and-answer session at the Iowa State Fair. “When I came here for an Ag summit earlier this year, I pointed out that it’s already in place, as you know. The tax subsidy’s gone, but the renewable fuel standard’s still in place.”

The Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, has required corn-based ethanol to be blended into almost every gallon of gas in the U.S. The issue has divided the 2016 GOP field, with candidates having to balance any advocacy for the unwinding of a federal mandate with the risk of potentially turning off influential voters in Iowa, home of the first-in-the-nation caucuses. 

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