No, it's not a headline from The Onion. It actually happened:
Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday that rising demand for the corn-based fuel additive ethanol is contributing to a spike in milk prices and called for lifting the 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on ethanol imports.
Schumer, D-N.Y., said rising milk prices have been caused by, among other factors, a nationwide increase in demand for ethanol. The same corn used for ethanol is used in animal feed.
He called for the immediate lifting of the tariff on foreign ethanol imports to increase the supply of the federally mandated fuel additive, reduce pressure on the corn market, and bring down milk prices.
You don't see that everyday. (Maybe he wants cheap fuel so he can drive one of these.) No doubt there will be a good deal of resistance to the idea, though. I wonder what the Presidential candidates will say. Now that the Iowa caucuses are over, they might not feel the need to be quite so pro-ethanol subsidies.
