Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) plans to introduce legislation that would require country-of-origin labeling at the gasoline pump, a plan ethanol companies are promoting to boost their products by spotlighting U.S. reliance on oil imports.
Braley says his plan would require the Energy Department to oversee the requirements. "When we fill up our vehicles, there's no existing method for us to know where the fuel we're purchasing comes from and which nations are deriving the economic benefit from that purchase," Braley said. "When we put food in our bodies or clothes on our backs, we know exactly where those products come from. Americans should have the same opportunity to vote with their wallets at the gas pump," he added.
The ethanol trade group Growth Energy began advocating last summer for labeling rules akin to what's now required for many food and clothing products. However, the oil industry calls the idea wildly impractical to implement in the nation's complex refining and fuels distribution system.
"Congressman Braley's bill would let U.S. drivers know where they are sending their dollars when they gas up," says Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. "If the oil is from Venezuela, or Abu Dhabi, or Saudi Arabia, let people know. Americans deserve to know where their money goes [and] whether it stays here or goes overseas."
Meanwhile, in conjunction with Braley's announced proposal, Growth Energy released a poll that found that 68 percent of American voters support country-of-origin labeling on gasoline. Growth Energy's national poll of 1,200 voters, conducted by McKeon & Associates, asked the question: "Would you favor or oppose country of origin labeling for gasoline so consumers would know where their fuel comes from?" The poll showed 68 percent favored COOL for fuel, 15 percent opposed and 17 percent don't know. The poll has a 4.1 percent margin of error.
