Despite blizzards, wildfires and a tornado watch that threatened travel, a determined delegation from the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) is on Capitol Hill today for the group’s annual DC Fly-In and Government Affairs Summit, ready to conduct roughly 100 meetings with lawmakers and staff.
ACE VP of Government Affairs Katie Muckenhirn says they did have several people who were unable to attend due to travel issues, but the ones who did make it were able to get to all of the scheduled meetings. “The group was eager to get out there because we have some high-priority issues to hit,” she said. “It’s prime time to get some of these issues over the finish line.”
The top issue of course is year-round E15 sales and members are sporting and handing out “E15 Now” buttons today while pressing Congress for a legislative fix to allow E15 access year-round.
The delegation is also closely watching implementation of the 45Z clean-fuel production credit. Treasury recently released its rules, and ACE attendees will hear directly from USDA on its renewable-fuel calculator and from EPA’s Aaron Szabo on pending RFS updates. The White House may announce updates next week at an event reportedly expected to include farmers and biofuel interests and coinciding with National Ag Day celebrations.
Muckenhirn said the timing could not be better for unlocking new ethanol markets and growing demand. “We’ve got a great group out here and we’re excited to keep pushing our ethanol priorities,” she added.
Katie Muckenhirn - Fly-in kick off (3:12)