This country’s subsidies for blending ethanol with gasoline is one of our government’s most wasteful and corrupting uses of taxpayer money. The subsidies distort the market, they don’t create jobs, they fail to improve the environment, and most of the funds flow to a few wealthy individuals and well-connected companies. I’m glad to see there is a strong bipartisan push to finally let them all expire. From Greg Sargent:

The letter, which I obtained from a source, was authored by senators Dianne Feinstein and Jon Kyl, and includes a number of Democrats and Republicans, including John McCain, Susan Collins, Richard Burr, and Mike Enzi. This is key, because the question of whether the subsidies should expire is emerging as a key test — just like earmarks — of whether Republicans are serious about reining in spending and the deficit.

The letter (PDF) lays out a clear and concise case for why this program should be eliminated. A five-year extension would cost $31 billion; a one-year extension would directly lead to only 427  jobs.

A statement from individuals across the ideological spectrum that there is simply no place in our federal budget for wasteful, ineffective spending that is basically just corporate welfare. This is what good trans-partisanship looks like. And it is remarkably rare.