WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today questioned U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and highlighted the importance of completing a five-year Farm Bill. Consistent with his efforts encouraging federal adoption of the GREET model, a science-based tool for assessing lifecycle emissions, Grassley asked Vilsack about the steps USDA is taking to expand the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market for grain feedstocks. Grassley also pressed Vilsack on sound enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
Video of Grassley’s full questioning is above. Subject-specific transcripts and clips follow.
Vilsack Promotes GREET Model for SAF
Vilsack assured Grassley the USDA will continue to recognize the importance of grain feedstocks for SAF. Vilsack discussed how the GREET Model, simply due to its reliance on research and current data, can advance SAF and benefit ethanol producers:
“We’re not just advocating because [SAF] is good for farmers, we’re advocating because the science supports it. And I think as a result, a number of folks who may have been skeptical of the GREET Model, for example, now embrace the GREET Model.”
Vilsack’s support for the GREET Model is particularly noteworthy, as the agency group responsible for administering it is expected to issue an update this Friday, March 1.
Strong enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act
Grassley pressed Vilsack to ensure that forthcoming USDA rules regarding the Packers and Stockyards Act maintain existing enforcement methods in order to ensure competition in the livestock and poultry industries.
In a recent bipartisan push to further bolster the longstanding law’s efficacy, Grassley discouraged his colleagues from entertaining efforts to weaken the Packers and Stockyards Act in Fiscal Year 2024 funding negotiations.
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