E15 Introduced as Proposed Farm Bill Amendment

April 23, 2026

Print This Article Share it With Friends

by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) Members of the Congressional E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council are hoping the farm bill might be the vehicle to finally get E15 legislation on the road to passage.

Reps. Michelle Fischbach, Randy Feenstra, Stephanie Bice, and Adrian Smith introduced amendment to the House farm bill Wednesday (April 22, 2026) which would permit the sale of E15 year-round nationwide and finalize rulemaking to recognize E15 compatibility with existing infrastructure and equipment.

The legislation would also clarify the definition of “small refinery” and beginning in 2028 permit RFS compliance exemptions for reasons including “imminent risk of closure, permanent idling, or conversion to a renewable fuel production facility.”

The Renewable Fuels Association is now urging House members of both parties to support the amendment. “This amendment would permanently allow for year-round, nationwide sales of lower-cost E15 at a time when American consumers are facing high gas prices and our nation’s farmers are in desperate need of new market opportunities. The amendment strikes the right balance for the many stakeholders who came to the table and engaged in good faith with the House council over the past several months, and we believe it is broadly supportable by agriculture, oil refining, biofuels, and fuel retail interests,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper.

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings said, “Certain refiners have been holding E15 legislation hostage for far too long and Americans are feeling significant pain at the pump. Congress needs to decide if it will finally allow lower-cost E15 to be sold nationwide or let refiners continue to block Americans from saving money at the pump. Ongoing Middle East market instability underscores the urgency of this action, and we look forward to working with Republican and Democratic champions of E15 in both the House and Senate to get this across the finish line.”

However, Agri-Pulse reports independent oil refiners say the latest congressional push to get more U.S. corn ethanol into fuel tanks is dead on arrival. READ MORE

Related articles

ACE Welcomes Action to Make Nationwide, Year-Round E15 Permanent (American Coalition for Ethanol)
RFA Applauds Bipartisan House Farm Bill Amendment Allowing Year-Round E15 (Renewable Fuels Association)
Independent refiners reject latest E15 proposals in Congress (Agri-Pulse)
Lawmakers submit amendments focused on E15, RFS for Farm Bill consideration (Ethanol Producer Magazine)
Year-round E15 supporters hopeful for amendment to farm bill: House Rules Committee to decide Monday on potential next steps (Roll Call)
Biofuels supporters push for year-round E15 in farm bill amendment (Brownfield Ag News; includes AUDIO)
E15, SRE Farm Bill Amendments Coming: Farm Bill Amendments Would Expand E15, Change RFS Obligations for Small Refiners (DTN Progressive Farmer)
E15 Expansion ‘Just a Matter of Time,’ Oil-State Lawmaker Says -- An oil-state lawmaker says year-round E15 approval is likely, even as oil industry opposition and policy hurdles remain in Congress. (Successful Farming)
API and farm groups push new E15 plan; corn lobby blasts foes (Agri-Pulse)
Oil Corporations Attempt to Derail Legislation That Lowers Fuel Prices (National Corn Growers Association)
House Lawmakers Float Farm Bill Amendments To Approve E15 Year-Round (Inside EPA)
New deal on ethanol emerges for farm bill debate (E&E News)
Congressman says E15 critical to farm bill vote (Brownfield Ag News; includes AUDIO)
Oil Corporations Attempt to Derail Legislation That Lowers Fuel Prices (National Corn Growers Association)

Excerpt from Renewable Fuels Association: The Renewable Fuels Association today applauded the introduction of an amendment to the House farm bill that would permanently allow nationwide, year-round sales of E15. RFA thanked the House’s E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council and supporters on both sides of the aisle for their hard work to advance this critical legislation. The association is now urging House members of both parties to support the amendment—which was filed by Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) and several bipartisan co-sponsors—and ultimate passage of the farm bill.

“We greatly appreciate the efforts of council co-chairs Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Stephanie Bice (R-OK), and scores of other E15 supporters in both parties, to bring this much-needed legislative fix closer to the finish line,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “This amendment would permanently allow for year-round, nationwide sales of lower-cost E15 at a time when American consumers are facing high gas prices and our nation’s farmers are in desperate need of new market opportunities. The amendment strikes the right balance for the many stakeholders who came to the table and engaged in good faith with the House council over the past several months, and we believe it is broadly supportable by agriculture, oil refining, biofuels, and fuel retail interests. We appreciate the council’s diligent efforts to find compromise and a path forward for the legislation. Now, we turn our attention to securing passage of the legislation, and we urge members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to work together to finally get this done.”

Earlier this year, President Trump called on both the House and Senate to pass year-round E15 legislation as quickly as possible and deliver it to his desk for signature.

The amendment offered today would finally apply the same gasoline volatility standards to E15 that are applied today to standard E10 gasoline. This would allow E15 to be sold year-round without interruption in conventional gasoline markets across the nation. In addition, it would streamline requirements for fuel marketers to demonstrate infrastructure compatibility. Finally, the legislation would make targeted reforms to the small refinery exemption program under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Click here for responses to frequently asked questions about E15. READ MORE

Excerpt from Roll Call: The House Rules Committee will meet Monday (April 27, 2026) to consider a resolution governing floor debate for the farm bill. The committee can include in the rule setting debate for the bill language that simultaneously considers the amendment as adopted, or it can rule it in order to be voted on separately on the floor.

The amendment was submitted to the House Rules Committee by Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., and co-sponsored by Republicans Reps. Randy Feenstra of Iowa and Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma.

Bice and Feenstra co-chair the E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council, which Republican leaders established in January to satisfy farm-state representatives after they tried to attach the E15 sales provision to an appropriations package.

...

President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins have called for Congress to pass legislation allowing the year-round sale of E15. Supporters argue it would provide more certainty to farmers. While the EPA has issued a waiver each summer since 2022, legislation would eliminate the possibility a future administration might not issue it.

Groups that supported earlier efforts to allow the year-round sale of E15 applauded the amendment. The American Petroleum Institute, American Farm Bureau Federation, Renewable Fuels Association and nine other organizations signed on to a letter released Thursday that called on members of Congress to support the amendment.

“This amendment reflects a unique area of agreement across the fuel and agriculture supply chain,” the letter said. “While our industries do not always see eye to eye, we are united in the belief that these policy reforms provide needed certainty, preserve consumer choice, and support agriculture and energy economies alike.”

Although the amendment has some buy-in from the oil and gas industry, the midsize refineries raised objections earlier this year, arguing that while proposals have worked for larger oil companies, the RFS compliance costs could drive them out of business. The Fueling American Jobs Coalition, which represents independent refiners and workers, said the amendment did not address their concerns.

“It has been made abundantly clear that the ethanol industry has no interest in a year-round E-15 compromise that would rein in the volatile regulatory costs of the Renewable Fuel Standard,” the group said in a statement. “What remains unclear is why Congressional leaders formed the Rural Domestic Energy Council if they had no intention or interest in pursuing a commonsense compromise that would deliver year-round E-15 while protecting independent refiners.”

The RFS program also faces opposition from members of the House Freedom Caucus, who argue the program raises prices for consumers. Republican Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania both have introduced amendments to the farm bill to repeal the RFS. READ MORE

Excerpt from Brownfield Ag News: Troy Bredenkamp is with the Renewable Fuels Association. “We’ve been asked for years to find an agreement and find a place where you can agree with the oil and gas sector. This particular package has about 90 to 95 percent of that liquid-fuel value chain in support of. I don’t think you’re going to get a much higher percentage than that.”

...

The language is an amendment to the farm bill, which could be debated next week by the U.S. House. Matt Ziegler with the National Corn Growers Association tells Brownfield, “We’ve been looking for any potential vehicle to move E15 for quite sometime now. The farm bill is presenting itself right now and we’re hopeful that’s a pathway.”

The Fueling American Jobs Coalition, which represents independent refiners and union workers, says the proposal ignores needed reforms, raises costs for consumers, and threatens U.S. fuel supply and refining jobs. READ MORE; includes AUDIO

Excerpt from DTN Progressive Farmer: The Fueling American Jobs Coalition, a coalition of union workers and independent American oil refiners, expressed opposition to the measures.

"Ongoing efforts to force unchecked E15 expansion, without needed reforms to lower and prevent continuous increases in ethanol mandates, through yet another must-pass piece of legislation fly in the face of the Rural Domestic Energy Council and lawmakers' promises to pursue a responsible path forward," the group said in a statement on Wednesday.

"It has been made abundantly clear that the ethanol industry has no interest in a year-round E15 compromise that would rein in the volatile regulatory costs of the Renewable Fuel Standard."

The biofuels amendments come just one day after President Donald Trump issued an executive order addressing dwindling refining capacity in the U.S.

...

"Certain members of Congress are advancing proposals that would diminish

America's ability to produce gasoline, diesel and jet fuel," the group said.

"We oppose efforts to include E15 in the farm bill and ask members of Congress to take a stand for the independent refinery workers, consumers, and communities they represent."

The amendments not only would address the E15 issue but would include a 75% cut in RFS obligations for small refiners starting in 2028.

One amendment also would bar the EPA from shifting RFS obligations to other parties, which would be in stark contrast to the EPA's recently finalized RFS rule that requires 70% of gallons waived for small refiners to other obligated parties.

Biofuels credits deemed as wrongly retired from 2016 to 2018 also would be retroactively returned to refiners.

Small refineries in threat of closure would be granted the ability to petition the EPA for relief annually but would cap the volume at 150 million gallons annually.

"This landmark, bipartisan solution for year-round E15 would unlock new options at the pump, saving consumers up to 30 cents per gallon and expanding markets for America's farmers," Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor said in a statement.

"With the summer driving season approaching fast, this amendment represents a critical opportunity to unleash investment in rural communities and shield U.S. consumers from volatility with lower-cost, American-made fuel. We urge the House to support this amendment and send it to the president, who has promised to sign year-round E15 into law without delay." READ MORE

Excerpt from Successful Farmer: Frank Lucas, R-Okla., is a beef producer and wheat grower and the longest-standing member of the House Agriculture Committee. He spoke at a meeting of the North American Agricultural Journalists in Washington, D.C., last week. "I am from a corn deficit state. I'm from an oil and gas state. With 3D seismographic horizontal drilling and the impressive fracking technology, I sit on an ocean of oil and gas," he said.

"My livestock feeders are not excited about E15. My oil and gas people are not excited about E15." Still, he said, "My corn friends make the point that it does oxygenate the gasoline and makes it burn better. I acknowledge that.”

When responding to constituents who would like to do away with ethanol altogether, Lucas said: “I say, ‘What do you do with that 40% of the corn crop that goes through the cookers [for ethanol production]? You will bust corn and you'll take every other feed grain with it.… If you expand E15 to year-round demand, yes, you're going to put more of it through the cookers. I understand that. And I understand why every corn surplus state wants that.”

Which side will prevail? “My gut feeling is my corn friends will get what they want. It's just which one of those big bills it will be a part of,” Lucas said. “Will it happen? Yeah, it's just a matter of when. That's your real answer." READ MORE

Excerpt from National Corn Growers Association: “There is a tiny minority of major energy corporations – like Delek U.S. Inc., Cenovus Energy, CVR Energy, HF Sinclair, Parr Pacific Holdings and Suncor Energy Inc. – that are masquerading as small refineries to get Renewable Fuel Standard exemptions they don’t need,” said Ohio farmer and NCGA President Jed Bower. “Their greedy actions are holding up legislation that would help farmers who are struggling during tough economic times.”

Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, smaller refineries can ask for exemptions from blending fuel with ethanol, if they can demonstrate that compliance causes economic hardship. However, many so-called smaller refineries have sought exemptions over the years while also boasting multi-million or billion-dollar profits.

This statement comes as NCGA and a broad coalition of farm, ethanol, and petroleum groups are pushing for an amendment to the Farm Bill that would remove an antiquated regulatory barrier in the Clean Air Act, allowing for the sale of E15 during the summer months.

Bower also noted that the actions of the corporations are keeping gas prices higher for America’s drivers.

“E15 saves consumers money at the pump, which is particularly important during the summer months,” Bower noted. “So, these billion-dollar companies are putting their interests above hard-working Americans trying to make ends-meet.” READ MORE

Excerpt from E&E News: The idea, supported by the council members, including Reps. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma and Randy Feenstra of Iowa, builds on an earlier framework that fizzled amid opposition from some refining companies. Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) is the main sponsor.

Lobbying groups for both the ethanol and petroleum industries urged lawmakers to support the amendment, although it would have to overcome a jurisdictional conflict between the Agriculture Committee — where the farm bill originated — and the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees the renewable fuel standard. READ MORE

Excerpt from Brownfield Ag News: A member of the U.S. House Ag Committee says his vote on the farm bill hinges on year-round E15.

“To get me to a yes, we’re going to need definitive answers on year-round E15.”

Illinois Democratic Congressman Eric Sorensen says those answers are in the E15 amendment brought forward by the House Rural Domestic Energy Council.

“This isn’t just for farmers and producers. This is for my neighbors.” He says, “And we need to be able to have that certainty, because that’s what our producers need. They need the certainty that this is something that we will invest in.”

He tells Brownfield the proposal addresses concerns over small refinery exemptions that have held up previous efforts.

“The oil lobby, they spend hundreds of millions of dollars on their lobbying efforts.” He says, “This is about standing up to them and understanding that the refineries are going to be just fine.” READ MORE