ST. LOUIS, Mo. (RFD News) — Lawmakers are back on Capitol Hill this week and are hearing consistent concerns from farmers and ranchers. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says high input costs, low commodity prices, and uncertainty tied to trade and global conflict are top of mind.
“It was constantly coming up about high input costs, low prices, the uncertainty of tariffs, what’s going on in Iran, and how it’s driven up the diesel prices,” Grassley says. “Farmers are at fits what to do about it.”
As Congress considers additional war funding, Grassley is urging lawmakers to include year-round E15 sales in that package, arguing it could help ease fuel costs.
“E15 nationwide, year-round, goes very much in a bill to replenish war material, because the war itself is causing some of these input costs to farmers,” he continues.
Senate majority leader John Thune recently agreed with Grassley, saying E15 in the supplemental war package would make sense. However, that effort is facing pushback from other groups in the energy sector.
The Fueling American Jobs Coalition says any proposals to allow year-round sales of E15 will not fly. The group, made up of refiners and union workers, says allowing year-round sales without meaningful reforms to the renewable fuel standard would lead to higher gas prices, especially in areas already facing limited refining capacity. The group also calls the renewable fuel standard an outdated ethanol mandate.
Biofuel groups are applauding the introduction of an amendment to the House Farm Bill that would permanently allow nationwide, year-round sales of E15. The action is being led by the House’s E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council.
Geoff Cooper, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), joined us on Friday’s Market Day Report to share his thoughts on the proposal and what it could mean for the future of E15.
In his interview with RFD News, Cooper discussed the details of the amendment and what it entails, why he believes it represents the right path forward, and whether pushback is expected. He also addressed opposition from a coalition of independent refiners rejecting the latest E15 legislative proposals and whether that resistance could influence the future of year-round sales.
Finally, Cooper outlined what the future could hold for E15 if the amendment does not pass and what other opportunities may exist to achieve year-round sales.
The House council tasked with finding a path forward on year-round sales could soon release a proposal. Bloomberg reports they are close to filing a bill. It would also limit exemptions from blending mandates to companies processing fewer than 75,000 barrels of crude oil per day. There is no word on when that legislation could be introduced.
