Is EPA biased against ethanol?

On a conference call with media last week, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, raised the possibility that the Obama Administration's EPA may be biased against ethanol. He thinks the EPA is taking its cue from the Department of Energy and says officials with the latter are on record as believing ethanol is a dying fuel.

Then today, the AP reports the following from a South Dakota congresswoman:

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota says she and other members of Congress want to find out why federal officials have delayed a decision on allowing higher concentrations of ethanol in gasoline.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced it will wait until fall to decide whether to increase the maximum blend from 10 to 15 percent. The agency said the delay would allow more testing of the higher blend in vehicles.