Prepared Senate Floor Remarks by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
The Energy and Water Appropriations Act
June 25, 2018
I would like to raise an issue, not with the actual bill before us, but with language included in the committee report accompanying the bill. The EPA has reportedly given out an unprecedented number of so-called small refinery hardship waivers to the Renewable Fuel Standard even to huge multibillion companies.
The EPA has yet to disclose what waivers it has granted and the rationale, but based on what has been reported, its actions seem pretty darn fishy. Refiners speaking with the press have noted, “Anyone with a brain submitted an application. The EPA was handing out those exemptions like trick or treat candy.”
The EPA is hiding behind a very narrow court case for specific refineries as well as report language accompanying last year’s Energy and Water Appropriations Bill.
Now, neither I nor any other senator voted for this report language. Reports accompanying bills are not actually law so they are not legally binding. Still, I wrote to the subcommittee that it should not include language purporting to tell the EPA to do anything other than follow the law.
The law mandates blending 15 billion gallons of renewable fuels into our fuel supply. Estimates are that these retroactive waivers have reduced that by at least 1.63 billion gallons. Every billion gallons lost equates to a loss of more than 2 million acres of harvested corn and an increase in emissions.
My constituents are outraged at this activity. Agriculture Secretary Perdue has called these waivers “demand destruction” for biofuels.
I wrote to the Energy and Water subcommittee that it should urge the EPA to disclose the waivers it gives and the rationale for any they grant and that any waivers should not result is a lowering of the 15 billion gallon renewable volume obligation in the law.
I am disappointed that the committee didn’t include my common sense language about transparency. But, I am very upset that it renewed the previous language purporting to direct EPA how to consider small refinery waivers.
The Appropriations Committee should drop the controversial report language and EPA should simply follow the law.
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