Bipartisan bill would repeal ethanol blending requirement of RFS
Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) are working together to urge the repeal of a piece of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that requires refiners to blend a certain amount of ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply.
“The federal mandate for corn ethanol is both unwise and unworkable,” Feinstein said in various media reports. “A significant amount of U.S. corn is currently used for fuel. If the mandate continues to expand toward full implementation, the price of corn will increase.”
Feinstein’s and Toomey’s bill would repeal the corn ethanol mandate in the RFS, set by the Environmental Protection Agency every year. However, biofuel producers have already begun rallying against the legislation introduced late last week.
While NACS does not support repeal of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), NACS has been working with EPA and Congress to ensure that the annual volumes of ethanol mandated by EPA reflect the current economics and that the marketplace can absorb those increases of renewable fuels. Last year, NACS supported EPA’s draft proposal for the 2014 RFS volumes and was disappointed when the administration postponed making that rule final. NACS will continue to work with policymakers to ensure that retailers are able to sell the fuel that consumers demand.
