By Gabe Bullard, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Missouri democratic senate candidate Claire McCaskill is accusing Republican Senator Jim Talent of favoring big oil over ethanol producers.
McCaskill said today (Thursday) that Senator Talent has opposed ethanol production since he was a state legislator in the 1980s.
Missouri Republicans say McCaskill is opposed to a long-term solution to high gas prices.
The G.O.P. says McCaskill opposed last year's energy bill that called for more ethanol and biodiesel production.
McCaskill says the bill didn't do enough for ethanol producers.
"The meat of the bill was written for the oil and gas industry." Said McCaskill, "It was to take care of the oil and gas industry. They threw out a few crumbs to the ethanol industry."
Currently, ethanol costs more to produce than gasoline.