Many
bills that get introduced in the Senate won’t go anywhere. They are simply
messaging documents.
I
usually do not care to comment on these bills. It simply isn’t worth my time.
But
when I see the combination of false information spread in messaging bills that could
negatively impact my state, I must set the record straight.
Several
colleagues just introduced a bill to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
I’ve
been a proud advocate for renewable energy. Iowa is a leader in both wind and
renewable fuels.
When
it comes to the RFS, it is hard to argue there has ever been a more successful
clean fuels policy implemented across the world.
Between
2008 and 2020, the use of biofuels under the RFS resulted in a savings of 980
million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
That’s
the equivalent to removing over 200 million cars from the road for one year.
The
RFS makes gasoline more affordable, generates good-paying jobs, reduces oil
imports and reduces our country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The
messaging coming from the bill rehashes the same talking points about ethanol
that Big Oil has trotted out for the past decades.
Of
course, Big Oil’s talking points have been completely debunked by the latest
science and the non-partisan research from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
My
pro-oil colleagues say that the RFS causes food and feed prices to rise.
However,
in 2014, the CBO looked at the impact on food prices if the RFS was fully
repealed.
The
CBO concluded that American food prices would be just one quarter of one
percent higher if the RFS was kept in place versus total repeal.
Out
of a $100 grocery bill, the impact is no more than a quarter.
But
when you consider that there is a savings of $5 every time you fill up at the
gas station due to the RFS, consumers save money overall with the RFS in place.
My
colleagues also claimed, falsely, that corn ethanol achieves little to no
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
This
might be the most ridiculous assertion.
I’d
like to invite my colleagues to visit Iowa to see just how far ethanol has come
in emission reductions.
The
most recent research from Harvard shows that corn ethanol’s greenhouse gas
emissions are 46 percent lower than gasoline.
Research
by USDA found the reduction in CO2 could reach 71 percent by next year if
farmers follow best practices.
At
a time when our nation is working to reduce fossil fuel consumption and protect
our environment, why would my colleagues introduce a bill that would increase
our dependence on foreign oil and increase greenhouse gas emissions?
Renewable
fuels like ethanol have a forty-year track record of making fuel more
affordable and vehicles more efficient.
To
limit this consumer choice at the pump is completely irresponsible.
Attempts
to limit consumer choice, which are driven by Big Oil interests, must be
defeated.
The
United States should continue to build on the progress of the RFS and bring
policy to the table that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and brings jobs to
rural America.
