With the start of the summer driving season just a couple of weeks away, President George W. Bush will seek to gain momentum for his plan to cut U.S. gasoline consumption by 20% over the next 10 years.

Bush will make an announcement on energy issues from the Rose Garden at 1:25 p.m. (EDT) on Monday to “announce his latest effort to ensure that the nation is taking aggressive steps to reduce gasoline consumption and to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources,” White House spokesman Tony Snow said Monday. “He will ask the administration to start implementing the 20-in-10 plan through regulatory action. At the same time he will continue to urge Congress to pass legislation to advance the goal.”

The national average for regular gasoline is now above $3 per gallon, so lawmakers are renewing their vows to crack down on price gouging. Last week, lawmakers said they want to look into whether OPEC, oil-industry mergers, and a lack of refining capacity are behind the rising prices.

In March, President Bush called on Congress to pass energy legislation by Memorial Day.  The White House sent lawmakers a draft bill to change the current renewable fuel standard to an alternative fuel standard and reform Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards for cars. Both are key parts of the administration’s strategy to boost the supply of renewable and alternative fuels to 35 billion gallons by 2017 and lower gasoline consumption.

Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell will brief reporters after Bush’s announcement Monday.

The U.S. Senate will consider a bill that would require the production of 15 billion gallons of renewable fuel from feedgrain-based ethanol by 2015.

An estimated 5.4 billion bushels of corn, whcih is roughly equal to 43% of the entire U.S. corn crop, would be needed to produce the 15 billion gallons proposed in the bill.
 

NCBA is providing information to Congress about the negative consequences S. 987 could have on beef producers; the impact of a 15 billion gallon renewable fuel standard for feedgrain-based ethanol could dramatically increase costs of gain and pressure feeder cattle and calf prices.
 

Policy approved by NCBA members earlier this year opposes additional mandates for grain-based ethanol.  Beef producers support a sunset on current ethanol subsidies and greater emphasis on renewable fuels derived from sources other than feedgrains.

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson has introduced what he calls “groundbreaking legislation that offers tax breaks and guaranteed loans for small business for the development of bio-gas derived from animal waste.”
 

Biogas, a natural gas substitute that is created by the anaerobic digestion (AD) of animal wastes, is composed of at least 60%  methane, the principal ingredient in natural gas.  Biogas can be used as is on the farm, co-located with an ethanol plant, and cleaned up to be used as a renewable substitute for natural gas, propane, or other fossil fuels.  Nelson acknowledges that the technology to break down animal wastes to create bio-gas already exists and that it needs encouragement from the federal government to become a commercially-viable alternative to natural gas.
 

The bill, the Biogas Production Incentives Act of 2007, would encourage greater production of biogas for energy purposes by doing a number of things and would provide bio-gas producers with a tax credit of $4.27 for every mmBtu of biogas produced.
 

Biogas production also offers environmental benefits such as a reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions of both carbon dioxide and methane, as well as improved water quality through better manure management.
 

Sen. Nelson says the bill “would provide loans, loan guarantees and/or grants for the multi-farm collection and transportation of qualified energy feedstock from smaller livestock operations to a qualified facility, or for the purchase or construction of equipment or facilities for collection and transportation,” as well as creating a counter-cyclical safety net for biogas producers by providing payment from Commodity Credit Corporation funds to qualified biogas producers only when the annual average daily prices of natural gas falls below a certain level.
 

“We’ve made great strides in developing an ethanol industry in Nebraska and we should do more to diversify and expand our production of bio-fuels and renewable energy. My legislation will put into place tax incentives and financial support for large scale and small scale producers to get involved in biogas production and help America win the battle for energy independence.”