Republican Senators Join Assault on Ethanol  Harkin urges EPA to
uphold ethanol standards.  Published on: May 6, 2008  Two dozen
Republican senators have jumped into the fray surrounding
ethanol, writing to Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Stephen Johnson requesting the waiving of the
Renewable Fuels Standard. They claim it is responsible for the
increase in food prices despite several studies and economists
that show other factors as the major culprit for rising food
prices. This comes on the heels of requests by Texas and
Connecticut for waiver of ethanol blending requirements.  Senate
Agriculture Committee Chair Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, says that rising
food prices are a concern around the globe, but the attempt to
persuade the EPA to halt ethanol is without merit.  "To single
out increased biofuels production and use in the United States,
European Union and other countries as the chief cause of higher
world food prices is an over-simplification of the problem,"
says Harkin. "Numerous factors are c