Obama, Govs Meet on Coal, Biofuels

By: Clean Skies News; compiled from other sources, Published: 02/03/10 5:56pm

A presidential task force says America is not going to meet its benchmark of adding 36 billion gallons of biofuels to the fuel supply each year by 2022, unless the country spends more money to create biofuels.

The Interagency Working Group outlined its recommendation to President Barack Obama Wednesday afternoon. The group suggested more aid for the biofuel industry, combined with a push for more investment from the private sector. The biofuel industry has been hard hit by the recession.

The task force is headed by Energy Secretary Steven Chu, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

"We cannot afford to spin our wheels while the rest of the world speeds forward," said the President. Obama says he is committed to meeting the 2022 goal, but recognizes significant measures will be needed to meet it.

He discussed the recommendations during a meeting with the governor's of the nation's coal-producing states. He is hoping to to gain support for an energy bill. Towards that end, Obama announced a new task force to study coal's role in the nation's energy needs.

"There's no reason we can't work in a bipartisan way to get this done," he told the governors.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu will lead the new task force.