Ethanol vote will test commitment to deficit reduction

WASHINGTON • Ethanol's supporters have gotten their way over the years in winning taxpayer subsidies, a guaranteed market and a tariff that protects corn-made fuel from foreign competition.

But the political landscape is changing with government's growing red ink, and the extent of that change will be measured Tuesday when the Senate votes on a proposal to strip away the ethanol industry's subsidies.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has forced a vote on his amendment to end a tax break for ethanol amounting to $6 billion annually. It also would lift tariffs that limit imports of Brazil's abundant sugarcane ethanol.