ALCOHOLIC PORK: Senate goes after corn ethanol targets for fuel.

Senators on both sides of the aisle are pushing measures that would whack the corn ethanol portion of federal biofuel blending targets, unswayed by a recent Environmental Protection Agency proposal to slash next year’s goal.

The efforts come as the House remains stalled on its legislative proposal, and after some lobbyists have suggested the EPA action last month could reduce congressional appetite to change the Renewable Fuel Standard.

“The hearing on Wednesday was a bit of a surprise,” Michael McAdams, president of the Advanced Biofuels Association, said of a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standard. “A lot of people thought that when the EPA released the rule that it would cut the legs out of doing anything legislatively.”

Ethanol makes food more expensive, hurts engines, and is bad for the environment. It’s liquid pork.