Now that Congress is back in session after a two week break in the middle of not being able to fund the Department of Homeland Security, the ethanol industry remains optimistic that a chance remains for nationwide E15 legislation to cross the finish line before the end of the year.
The Renewable Fuels Association is keeping the issue front and center offering a wealth of information to remind lawmakers, ethanol advocates, media, and others about the importance of the 15 percent ethanol blend.
“Nearly two months have passed since the House E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council’s deadline for introducing legislation that would permanently allow nationwide, year-round sale of E15,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “With the House and Senate now back in session, and with gasoline prices hovering near record highs, we are again calling on Congress to honor its commitments and quickly adopt legislation providing year-round access to lower-cost E15. The stakes have never been higher for America’s farmers, who are facing the worst economic conditions in nearly 50 years, and for America’s working families, who have seen prices at the pump surge by over $1 per gallon in the last month.”
A member of the rural council, Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), told Brownfield this week that a deal has been ready for a month now but other issues have taken priority.
“I can’t tell you exactly when we’re going to get E15 done, but we are going to get E15 done,” Johnson said. “But even without E15, I just still think Americans understand why they should be worrying more about what energy in a cornfield looks like than worrying about what energy in an oil field looks like. You don’t have to have a closed Straits of Hormuz to understand why the American farmer is a lot more responsible partner.”
RFA’s Cooper said in the latest Ethanol Report podcast that they remain optimistic. “If there was ever a time to get this done, it is right now. Farmers are struggling. Consumers are struggling with higher prices at the pump. We all know what’s happening in the Strait of Hormuz or not happening. So, the stars have aligned to get E15 done,” he said. “Whether it’s legislation providing emergency assistance to farmers, whether it is a supplemental military funding package for what’s happening in Iran, there will be, we think, several bites at the apple that would be appropriate and create an opening to attach this E-15 legislation. So that’s our hope. We haven’t given up.”
RFA offers a number of recently updated resources to help E15 advocates make the case for passage of the legislation, including FAQs, infographics, white papers, analyses, press releases, polls, and more.