By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Corn-based ethanol's supporters are whining, again. They want to keep governmental mandates to use the fuel. Too bad. It's time to kill the mandates, no matter what Garden City, Kan., ethanol backer Lee Reeve says.

In a New York Times article Wednesday, Reeve said getting rid of the requirements to use corn-based ethanol could hurt the country. How?

"Where are you going to find the oil to replace eight or nine billion gallons of ethanol?" Reeve asked.

Wrong question, because oil doesn't necessarily have to be used to replace corn-based ethanol.

That's where Brazil's sugar-based ethanol enters the picture.

Thanks to corn farmers, the U.S. imposes a 51-cent-a-gallon tariff on ethanol imports. Now some in Congress want to get rid of the tariff.

It's a great idea. Eliminating the tariff could lead to continued use of biofuels -- both corn- and sugar-based ethanols -- to help power American vehicles.