Lawmakers urge Biden to uphold the RFS

A group of 22 republication members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 22 sent a letter to President Joe Biden expressing disappointment in rumors that his administration is reversing course on its promise to uphold the Renewable Fuel Standard.

The letter references rumors that the U.S. EPA’s upcoming proposed rule to set RFS renewable volume obligations (RVOs) will “cut demand for more combined gallons of ethanol than all gallons cut due to small refinery exemptions (SREs) issued by the prior administration.”

“If your administration makes the unprecedented move to reopen the finalized 2020 RVO, and strip the demand for billions of gallons, the industry will certainly be devastated,” the representatives wrote. “As you stated, ‘Lip service won’t make up for nearly four years of retroactive damage that’s decimated our trade economy and forced ethanol plants to shutter.’ If these rumors are correct, demand for over 5 billion gallons of renewable, clean fuels will be lost.”

The letter urges Biden to direct the EPA to reconsider the rule and ensure that this administration makes good on its “promises to ‘fight for family farmers and revitalize rural economies… by ushering in a new era of biofuels.’”

The letter is signed by Reps. Rodney Davis, R-Ill.; Adrian Smith, R-Neb.; Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.; Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa; Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.; and Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, Darin LaHood, R-Ill.; Tom Emmer, R-Minn.; Ann Wagner, R-Mo.; Tracey Mann, R-Kan.; Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D., R-Iowa; Jim Hagedorn, R-Minn.; Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo.; James Comer, R-Ky.; Ron Estes, R-Kan.;  Jake LaTurner, R-Kan.; James R. Baird, R-Ind.; Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.;  Sam Graves, R-Mo.;  Donald J. Bacon, R-Neb.;  Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo.; and Mike Bost, R-Ill.

A full copy of the letter can be downloaded from Davis’s website.