WHAT HAPPENED: The House on Wednesday passed a bill, by a 218-203 vote, to allow year-round sales of higher ethanol blends, known as E15. The measure garnered support from 122 Republicans, 95 Democrats and one independent. The biofuel bill was rejected by 90 GOP members and 113 Democrats. A total of nine lawmakers didn’t vote.
BACKGROUND: Sales of E15, a fuel blend with 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline, have been typically restricted for parts of the year because of smog concerns, though President Trump has used executive action to allow E15 sales this summer.
THE MAIN STICKING POINT: The objections center around the economic ripple effects of language that would change how the Environmental Protection Agency handles small refinery exemptions (SREs) from national biofuel-blending rules under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The SRE provision also faces objection from independent refiners who say it would lead to burdensome compliance costs and put union jobs at risk.
WHAT’S NEXT: The bill faces some stiff opposition in the Senate. Some Republican senators from oil-producing states have vowed to oppose the bill, underscoring the challenges it faces in the upper chamber, where legislation must meet a 60-vote threshold to advance.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “I oppose a year-round E15 mandate. That’s what’s currently under debate,” said Sen. John Barasso (R-WY). “I oppose it because it hurts small refineries and all of the people around the country who work in these small refineries.”
“In truth, ‘E15,’ as it is known, is the ethanol lobby’s Trojan horse to expand one of the most costly and destructive federal mandates in U.S. history: the Renewable Fuel Standard. Without reforms to the underlying rule, the E15 expansion entrenches a hidden gas tax, drives up food and fuel prices, slashes vehicle efficiency, threatens refining jobs, and undermines American energy dominance.” — Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Chip Roy (R-TX) in a recent op-ed.
Source: Good in Every Grain
