Too Bad for Bush

Those burdensome rules and regulations that do things like... you know... let us breath, are not the cause behind soaring gas prices.

Bush ordered the EPA to do a study to determine whether regulations that require gasoline blends of petroleum and ethanol were having a major impact on gas prices.

The determination by the EPA?

No

But, I am sure that Bush will find some other way to sell our health out to the oil industry.

EPA: Special fuels not to blame for costs
By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jun 22, 4:38 PM ET

WASHINGTON - "Boutique" gasoline blends to help states meet clean air rules are not a factor in higher prices as President Bush has suggested, says a draft of a study ordered by the

Although often cited as a reason for volatile gasoline prices, so-called "boutique fuels" have not caused unusual distribution problems or contributed to price increases, the report concludes.

The review was conducted by a task force headed by the Environmental Protection Agency and involving representatives from the 50 states as well as the Energy and Agriculture departments.

Facing growing public outrage over soaring gasoline prices, Bush ordered the study on April 25 in a speech in which he attributed high gas prices in part to the growth of special fuels.

"We ... need to confront the larger problem of too many localized fuel blends, which are called boutique fuels," the president told a renewable fuels conference, adding that this has produced "an uncoordinated, overly complex set of fuel rules" that "tends to cause the price to go up."

But the task force found otherwise, according to its report to be released possibly as early as Friday.

According to a late draft, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, the task force concludes that suggestions of a connection between boutique fuels and supply or price concerns cannot be supported.

The review "did not reveal any studies or empirical data confirming that boutique fuels presently contribute to higher fuel prices or present unusual distribution problems," said the draft report.

(Full Story)