This alliance extends to the hearing rooms of Congress and many state legislatures that pass ethanol based mandates and tax incentives that encourge production of fuel oxygenates such as ethanol. The demand for ethanol stems from the fact that it is an alternative fuel which reduces dependence on foreign oil, it is an effective octane enhancing agent, it burns cleaner than straight gasoline, and it reduces the need for Federal agriculture subsidy payments.
Ethanol reduces the demand for gasoline.