The potential for corn ethanol to reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil is limited. Corn growers and ethanol producers talk enthusiastically about replacing the oil fields of the Middle East with the corn fields of the Midwest. But the true potential for biofuels to replace oil is not as sparkling as the rhetoric.

	Ethanol capacity to replace gasoline is limited The most favorable estimates, which already include cellulosic feedstocks, point out that fuel made from biomass can replace only a fourth to a third of transport-related oil consumption.
	Even using all corn to ethanol wouldn't stop the U.S. oil dependency The Congressional Research Service has estimated that even if 100 percent of the U.S. corn harvest was dedicated to ethanol, it would displace less than 15 percent of national gasoline use.

Reliance upon foreign oil is one of the greatest threats to U.S. national security and economic stability. This serious problem cannot be solved solely through the promotion of ethanol.