WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley
(R-Iowa) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), members of the Agriculture Committee, joined
a bipartisan group of Midwest senators on a push to expand the year-round sales
of E15 nationwide. The Consumer and Fuel
Retailer Choice Act would extend the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) volatility
waiver to ethanol blends above ten percent.
Earlier this year, eight governors across
the Midwest – led by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds –
requested the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issue a permanent RVP
waiver to allow their states to sell E15 year-round without restriction. As the
EPA sits on their request, the senators introduced this legislation to bring a
unified solution and nationwide certainty to the sale of E15.
“As gas prices remain painfully high for
many Americans, we consistently see E15 provides consumers with a more
affordable option for filling up their tanks. Ethanol is good for the economy,
good for national security and good for the environment. In addition to
benefiting consumers, it’s time to give some certainty to our farmers and
producers,” Grassley said.
“Homegrown ethanol is the cheaper,
cleaner option to relieve pain at the pump, and we’ve seen the benefits of
year-round E15 sales right here in Iowa,” Ernst
said. “By ensuring the year-round sale of higher blends of ethanol across
the country, we will bring much-needed certainty to our corn growers, who stand
ready to fulfill demands from coast to coast.”
Grassley and Ernst joined Sens. Deb
Fischer (R-Neb.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tammy Duckworth
(D-Ill.), Kevin Kramer (R-N.D.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.),
Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) on the bill.
The bill is also supported by the
American Petroleum Institute, SIGMA, National Association of Truck Stop
Operators, Renewable Fuels of Association, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers
Association, American Coalition for Ethanol, National Farmers Union and the
America Farm Bureau Federation.
Full text of the bill is available
HERE.
This spring, Grassley and Ernst
successfully
pressed
the Biden administration to allow E15 to be sold in the summer months to give
Americans some relief at the pump. They also introduced the
Home
Front Energy Independence Act, which included a provision that would make E15 available year-round
to provide consumers with a more affordable fuel option.
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