Senators Ask Biden to Restore the Integrity of the RFS
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A group of six democratic senators sent a letter President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 11 urging his administration to support U.S. farmers and the biofuels industry by restoring the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard.
The letter, signed by Sens. Tammy Duckworth. D-Ill.; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Tina Smith, D-Minn.; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc.; Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., requests that Biden take bold action in support U.S. farmers and rural communities while acting to combat climate change.
“The outgoing administration undermined the [RFS], which was designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, diversify our fuels, strengthen our national security and drive economic opportunity in America’s heartland,” they wrote. “It is critical that the integrity of this policy be restored and that biofuels be part of your efforts to combat climate change and reduction greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s largest emitting sector.”
In order to achieve those goals, the senators urge the Biden administration to swiftly take four steps. First, the senators ask Biden to direct the U.S. EPA to adopt the Tenth Circuit Court decision on small refinery exemptions (SREs) nationwide and swiftly reject any pending and future SRE petitions that do not meet the standards set forth by the court. Second, they ask him to swiftly publish the 2021 renewable volume obligations (RVOs). Third, the senators urge Biden to approve pending pathway applications for corn kernel fiber ethanol and update the EPA’s biofuels emissions modeling. Fourth, when reaffirming U.S. commitment to the Paris Climate Accord, the senators ask Biden to include biofuels.
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A full copy of the letter can be downloaded from Duckworth’s website. READ MORE
RFA Thanks Senators for Leadership in Defending the Renewable Fuel Standard (Renewable Fuels Association)
