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for something that will do a lot more good than sending it there. 

 Let's use it for ethanol production, start burning more ethanol. It 

 will be better for the environment, it will help our cars last longer, 

 and it will help the American farmer. 



There is one ethanol plant that is trying to start up in Minnesota 

 right now that will take 6 million bushels of com right away and 

 they will build it up to 12 million bushels. They just need a little 

 prodding and they are ready to go. Another one is in the State of 

 Iowa that will take 20 million bushels. 



Besides that, we can put this com into sweeteners and other 

 types of alcohol and other things. This is where it will do the most 

 good. 



Mr. Stenholm. At what price must the alcohol be priced in order 

 to be profitable and at what price is the return to the com farmer 

 and the wheat producer for the conversion in your figures? 



Mr. Gashler. The price of the ethanol will be higher than gaso- 

 line, yes. 



Mr. Stenholm. How much? 



Mr. Gashler. I am not sure. 



Mr. Stenholm. That is the problem. That is the problem with 

 those scenarios. Let me ask you both one other question. You both 

 have been to the Soviet Union and a question that was asked ear- 

 lier today on a political sense, should the United States, perhaps 

 on an interparliamentary exchange, and I guess that is the way I 

 ask the question, even though we have healthy suspicions about 

 the current Soviet or Russian Parliament, the makeup there of 

 whether they are democratically elected or not, should we or should 

 we not make extraordinary efforts of communication with them 

 whether or not we like them or not. Parliament to Parliament? 



Mr. Evans. I think very definitely you should. They are in a situ- 

 ation where they are devoting much of their time to broad political 

 issues rather than the specific things relating to agriculture that 

 they probably ought to address. But I have had a number of meet- 

 ings with the chairman of the agriculture committee, if you will, of 

 their Parliament. He has great interest in things that we under- 

 stand very well. He has great interest in our laws that do not exist 

 there, not that they are necessarily going to copy our laws, but to 

 get some insights as to how we approa:ch these problems. 



I'll give you one good example. He went to his desk and took out 

 a book. You know what it was, it was a copy of the commercial code 

 of the State of Iowa, and there is no body of commercial law over 

 there, a great interest in how you solve these things. The extent 

 to which they would respond, I don't know, but I think it would be 

 very well worth pursuing. 



Mr. Stenholm. Might I have one follow-up? Is there a potential 

 downside with the Russian people? For example, if we are trying 

 to promote democratic action, free ownership of land, private enter- 

 prise, is there a potential downside if we are perceived to be 

 cozying up to the old-line Communist-dictated government? Is 

 there a downside or is it worth the risk? 



Mr. Evans. I think it is worth the risk. There is such a thing as 

 conversion, and I think we probably ought to work on that. 



Mr. Stenholm. Thank you. 

 Mr. Penny. Mr. Barlow. 



