Donation precedes ethanol waiver request

Published: July 2, 2008 at 12:28 PM

HOUSTON, July 2 (UPI) -- Documents show Texas Gov. Rick Perry sought relief from ethanol production mandates just six days after a poultry producer donated $100,000 to a group he heads.

East Texas poultry producer Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim gave $100,000 to the Republican Governor's Conference less than a week before Perry submitted a waiver request, The Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday.

The newspaper says records obtained through the Texas Public Information Act reveal a March meeting between Pilgrim and Perry to discuss the negative impact the federal corn-based production mandates were having on livestock producers.

In filing his waiver request, the newspaper says Perry sent a letter to all 22 of his fellow GOP governors asking them to join him.

Perry pressed for a waiver despite a Texas A&M study that concluded it would have little or no effect in driving down the price of feed corn for poultry.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Study: Oceans' intake of CO2 slowing (2 min)
Conscious man diagnosed in coma for years (3 min)
Sharks' Thornton is top player of the week (9 min)
Police tie S.D. Chargers player to brawl (15 min)
Home sale spike continues (16 min)
Wigan to give refunds after 9-1 loss (24 min)
Cooking fires most likely on Thanksgiving (30 min)
fark
Doctors say rarely-performed "hemicorporectomy" procedure can add years to life of those who need...
Musicians on the road: the insanity, the groupies, the parmesan-crusted duck breast with balsamic...
Citing huge demand and turnout, NYC health authorities happily confirm .00143% of the city was vaccinated...
Half of drivers age 18-34 admit texting on the road; the other half reponded with ;)
If you're going to hide a sex offender at your home, maybe you shouldn't work for the State Police...
Budget cuts, office closures, and staff reductions may mean that visits to the DMV won't provide...