Apr 14, 2023
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and a bipartisan group of 14 colleagues urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by maintaining the blending requirements for 2023; denying all pending Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs); eliminating proposed retroactive cuts to the renewable volume obligations (RVOs); and setting RFS volumes at the statutory levels.
“The RFS creates competition in the marketplace, keeping fuel costs low for consumers while bringing down carbon emissions,”the senators wrote to EPA Administrator Michael Regan.“By taking the steps enumerated above, EPA can set the RFS on a path that provides stability and growth for the U.S. biofuel sector. In doing so, it can guarantee this essential program continues to function as intended—as a mechanism for reducing emissions, driving economic growth in rural communities, keeping gas prices low, and bolstering national security by promoting an essential homegrown energy source.”
In addition to Klobuchar and Grassley, the letter was also signed by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Thune (R-SD), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tina Smith (D-MN), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Gary Peters (D-MI), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Jerry Moran (R-KS).
Klobuchar has long been a strong advocate for investing in renewable fuel infrastructure, increasing American biofuel production, and upholding the Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In March, she and Fischer reintroduced bipartisan legislation to make E15 available year round. TheConsumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2023would enable the year-round, nationwide sale of ethanol blends higher than 10 percent, helping to lower fuel prices and provide certainty in fuel markets for farmers and consumers.
Last July, Klobuchar introduced bipartisan legislation to lower fuel prices and improve vehicle efficiency. TheNext Generation Fuels Actwould allow the sale of fuels with higher-octane levels and greater amounts of ethanol.
Last April, Klobuchar led a bipartisan group of colleagues in pushing the Biden administration to expand American biofuel availability.
In March 2022, she and Ernst introduced theHome Front Energy Independence Act, bipartisan legislation to expand the availability and production of American biofuel, following President Biden’s ban on importing Russian oil.
Klobuchar and Grassley also introduced bipartisan legislation in December 2021 to provide certainty to biofuel producers by preventing the EPA from retroactively reducing RVO levels once finalized.
Full text of the letter is available here.
Read the original press release here.