Today U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) introduced “The Renewable Fuel Standard Repeal Act” (S. 1195). The bill would repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in its entirety.

“The Renewable Fuel Standard is fundamentally broken and beyond repair,” said Senator Barrasso. “Instead of delivering meaningful environmental benefits, it’s driven up food and fuel costs for American families. This flawed program will also inevitably lead to widespread lawsuits against American manufacturers. When Congress enacts bad policy, the right response is to scrap it and start over.”

As the ethanol industry has noted over the past few months, arguing that the RFS is not working and it has driven up food and fuel costs is flawed.

“Senator Barrasso’s proposed legislation to repeal the RFS may serve the oil and gas interests in Wyoming, but it is bad for consumers, bad for the environment, and bad for America,” said Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “The RFS has proven its worth time and time again. It creates jobs, reduces America’s dependence on foreign oil, lowers the price of gasoline, and – most importantly – gives consumers choice at the pump. Choice matters. Consumers want options and the ability to make their own informed decision.”

Dinneen continued, “Right now, we are fighting tooth and nail to introduce more choice into a market that is dominated by the petroleum industry. Repealing the RFS is not the answer because the problem lies with the lack of choice caused by market domination by the petroleum monopoly. I promise you, Senator Barrasso’s proposal will never become law because it is the wrong policy for America, and we will continue fighting for the RFS until the cows come home.”