Today we head to Minnesota's 7th Congressional District where incumbent candidate, Rep. Collin Peterson, is up against Michelle Fischbach. Here are their responses to our queries: 

Collin Peterson (D)

Q. What is your position concerning the current state of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)? Should the EPA follow the 10th Circuit Federal Court's decision regarding Small Refinery Exemption (SRE) waivers and reject current, future and gap year SRE applications from the oil industry?

A. I am very concerned about the EPA's implementation of the RFS program. I am the lead sponsor of H.R. 3006, which would stop the EPA from giving illegal waivers to oil companies. My bipartisan bill would set an enforceable timeline so that if the EPA provides hardship waivers, all waived gallons are redistributed so that the targets set in law are not undermined. I strongly support the 10th Circuit decision and am opposed to the issuance of gap year waivers which are not consistent with the Congressional intent of the RFS program which I helped pass. 

Q. Given the large number of spark ignition-powered vehicles on the road and the need to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, what is your position concerning a possible Low Carbon High Octane Fuel Standard to replace more petroleum with greater amounts of renewable ethanol?

A. I have long been an advocate of moving to a system that allows the benefits of high octane ethanol to be fully realized. I support incentives that encourage car manufacturers to optimize vehicles for mid-blends of ethanol like E25 and E30, which burns cleaner, delivers higher performance, and costs less for consumers. 

Q. The Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected Minnesota's ethanol industry. At one point, plants were shutdown while others had to significantly reduce production. While production has begun to approach pre-pandemic levels, Minnesota’s ethanol producers are still facing severe financial distress. Would you support financial aid to Minnesota’s ethanol producers?

A. I authored language+H15 in the House (for the) Heroes Act, which passed May 15th, which would provide needed support to ethanol producers. The provision would provide direct support to ethanol producers in the form of a $0.45 credit per gallon produced between January 1 and May 1, 2020. If enacted, this would provide over $2.2 billion dollars of assistance to biofuels producers. I have also requested that the Department of Agriculture make payments to support biofuels producers through their existing authorities. 

Q. Do you support making higher ethanol blends, such as E15, available across Minnesota and the United States through infrastructure funding?

A. I was a strong supporter of the BIP program under Secretary Vilsack, and the more recent iteration under Secretary Perdue. If consumers had the option of using higher blends of ethanol, market forces would allow the ethanol industry to recover and grow. Market access is stopping the ethanol industry from reaching its full potential and I will continue to support incentive programs to build the infrastructure needed to help biofuel producers and the farmers and rural communities they support.

Michelle Fischbach (R)

Q. What is your position concerning the current state of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)? Should the EPA follow the 10th Circuit Federal Court's decision regarding Small Refinery Exemption (SRE) waivers and reject current, future and gap year SRE applications from the oil industry?

A. I support the 10th Circuit’s ruling on Small Refinery Exemption Waivers. If refineries have not shown a need for an exemption in the past, or on a consistent basis, they should not qualify for exemptions now. There also needs to be increased scrutiny to prevent refineries from back dating their exemption requests.

Q. Given the large number of spark ignition-powered vehicles on the road and the need to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, what is your position concerning a possible Low Carbon High Octane Fuel Standard to replace more petroleum with greater amounts of renewable ethanol?

A. I am a strong advocate for moving towards a High Octane, Low Carbon Fuel Standard. When I was in the Minnesota Senate, I voted to increase the ethanol requirements in our fuel. I will continue to be a strong advocate for increasing ethanol requirements. High Octane, Low Carbon fuel is the most realistic way to reduce our greenhouse vehicle emissions and provide locally sourced fuel. 

Q. The Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected Minnesota's ethanol industry. At one point, plants were shutdown while others had to significantly reduce production. While production has begun to approach pre-pandemic levels, Minnesota’s ethanol producers are still facing severe financial distress. Would you support financial aid to Minnesota’s ethanol producers?

A. Biofuel producers deserve the same consideration for Covid stimulus relief as other sectors of our economy. If House Democrats are willing to include banking breaks for recreational marijuana businesses and stimulus checks for illegal immigrants in their Covid relief bill, then there is no reason why our ethanol growers and producers should not be eligible for similar treatment. I would be a strong advocate for including the biofuel industry in future stimulus bills. 

Q. Do you support making higher ethanol blends, such as E15, available across Minnesota and the United States through infrastructure funding?

A. Yes.