Congressman James Lankford (R-OK) this week introduced legislation called the “Phantom Fuels Elimination Act” that seeks to eliminate the so-called “corn ethanol mandate” and require domestic production of all other Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending requirements.

Response from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) on the proposed legislation was dismissive.

“Congressman Lankford should get his facts straight,” said RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen. “In dropping this bill, Rep. Lankford suggests ethanol is a ‘phantom fuel.’ Wrong! There is more than enough ethanol to meet the RFS. If it didn’t exist, the oil companies wouldn’t be fighting so hard to protect their monopoly over the nation’s fuel supply.”

Dinneen added that it is incomprehensible that Rep. Lankford would say his bill is needed to reduce consumer gasoline prices. “Ethanol is the cheapest transportation fuel in the world. Ethanol today is 50–60 cents cheaper than wholesale gasoline, lowering the price at the pump,” he said. “Moreover, ethanol stretches the domestic fuel supply and reduces the amount of petroleum needed in our gasoline, ultimately lowering the cost of crude oil.”