Ethanol: Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary Pick, Is Staunch Biofuel Supporter

food assistance in the wake of the economic turmoil.

Both Mr. Obama and Mr. Vilsack are regarded as staunch advocates of ethanol and other bio-fuels as a way to reduce the nation's reliance on foreign oil. And Mr. Obama and Democrats in Congress are working on a major economic stimulus package, in which they intend to promote the creation of thousands of new jobs tied to "green energy" industries, including the production of solar and wind energy.

One of the first major decisions Mr. Obama and Mr. Vilsack may have to make is whether to grant the ethanol industry's requests for billions in federal aid in the stimulus bill, which Mr. Obama has said he hopes to sign into law quickly, perhaps on his first day in office.

"The big issue for him and any incoming secretary is going to be biofuels, that's the sector that right now is in such a volatile position," said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit group that is a leading critic of federal farm subsidies. American farmers, Mr. Cook said, are "hitched to both the food system and the energy system, both of which are oscillating."

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