A moment of fiscal sanity was experienced in an unlikely place Thursday: the United States Senate.
Whether it can be replicated remains to be seen. But in the quest for a bipartisan solution to a national debt and deficit problem that’s careening toward crisis, Thursday’s vote to end long-protected ethanol subsidies revealed at least some willingness to reject ideological orthodoxy for the greater good.
Republicans and Democrats, in a 73-27 vote, approved an amendment to repeal a long unnecessary 45-cents-per gallon tax credit for corn-based ethanol, which is blended with gasoline to reduce petroleum use. The subsidy costs taxpayers $6 billion a year. The amendment also included repeal of a 54-cent tariff on imported ethanol, used to protect the industry from foreign competition.
For the moment, it was more symbolic than substantive. The legislation to which the amendment was attached isn’t expected to pass, and it would face an uncertain fate in the House. President Obama opposes a full repeal, favoring a smaller subsidy as part of a broader clean-energy policy. Thursday’s vote, though, appears to make a full renewal of the tax credit unlikely.
The case for eliminating this wasteful subsidy is overwhelming. High prices for corn have pushed up food and feed costs, hurting consumers and farmers. The tax incentive is not only misguided, it’s redundant — ethanol is required to be mixed with gasoline under a separate energy law. And then there’s that deficit problem.
Still, we’re talking about Congress, where sensible action is often the enemy of political and ideological priorities. So Thursday’s vote was seen by some as a hopeful ice-breaker for Democrats and Republicans who had previously agreed on almost nothing regarding tax policy.
(The 27 “no” votes came from a bipartisan cadre of senators from Corn Belt states. Washington Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell both voted for repealing the subsidy.)
Republicans who voted yes, led by fiscal-conservative-in-chief Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, had to fight off attacks by anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist. He pompously declared that repealing an industry tax break, if not accompanied by commensurate tax cuts, counted as a tax increase — violating a sacred principle. Thirty-two other Republicans stood with Coburn, and a majority of Democrats, in rejecting such baloney.
It will take that kind of backbone, from both parties, to reach a meaningful deal on deficit reduction. Admittedly, one vote to repeal one indefensible tax subsidy is a very small step. But it’s encouraging. It needs to be followed by courageous leadership from others, particularly the president and GOP House Speaker John Boehner, on tough choices that will require sacrifices from all, but are necessary to avert the fiscal crisis that’s creeping ever closer.
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