by Mark K. Matthews (E&E News) If they stay true to their campaign rhetoric, the class of freshman House Republicans won't be leading any revolutions next year on the issue of climate change. ... In a few cases, there are reasons for climate activists
2018 US Senate and House Campaigns Other Election Activities
Back TO HOMEIn Sioux City, Steve King Talks Farm Bill, Temporary Migrant Workers
by Katie Peikes (Iowa Public Radio) ... The Republican congressman says he’d like to see his legislation in the farm bill that would keep states from regulating production standards for agricultural products sold in interstate commerce by other states. King drafted that
November 27, 2018 Read Full Article
Washington State Voters Reject Carbon Tax
by Timothy Cama (The Hill) Voters in Washington state on Tuesday rejected a proposed carbon tax that would have been the first such levy in the nation. The policy would have been an effort to fight climate change by mandating that companies using or selling fossil
November 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Who's Running Things? With Democrats Preparing to Run the House
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) With Democrats preparing to run the House, here's how the committee leadership shuffle is expected to work out. — Energy and Commerce Committee: New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone will grab the gavel of this panel with
November 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Trump’s Trade War Looms over Divided U.S. Farm Belt ahead of Vote
by Humeyra Pamuk and P.J. Huffstutter (Reuters) ... Some of the nation’s 3.2 million farmers and ranchers, traditionally staunch Republicans, are wavering in this election because of the trade dispute with China, the main buyer of U.S. soybeans and pork, interviews with
November 02, 2018 Read Full Article
NFU Urges Administration to Honor Commitment to Biofuels
(National Farmers Union) Throughout his campaign for and tenure as president, Donald Trump has consistently pledged to support American-grown biofuels. However, his administration has too often failed to follow through on those promises in a timely fashion. In the most recent of
November 01, 2018 Read Full Article
Sen. Donnelly Backs E15 in Terre Haute Stop
by Mark Fitton (Tribune-Star) U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly stopped Saturday in Terre Haute to tout the use of E15, a gasoline blend containing 15 percent alcohol. ... Donnelly, a Democrat and member of the Senate’s agriculture committee, said he’s been a champion of the
October 29, 2018 Read Full Article
REI, Microsoft Rallying Companies to Support Washington’s Proposed Carbon Fee
by Nithin Coca (Sustainable Brands) Next month’s election could potentially be historic for Washington State, where voters will have the choice of enacting the first-in-the-nation carbon fee — a concrete measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state. Measure 1631
October 29, 2018 Read Full Article
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to Visit Sioux Falls Area on Thursday
by Jeremy Fugleberg (Sioux Falls Argus Leader) Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will visit South Dakota on Thursday morning. An initial schedule from the Department of Agriculture indicates Perdue will visit several locations in the Sioux Falls area. He will: Tour the
October 24, 2018 Read Full Article
RFA President Says February Not Soon Enough for E15 Rulemaking
(WNAX) This week, the Environmental Protection Agency published its rule making agenda for 2019 and in it said they’’ll start the rulemaking process for year-round use of E15 in February of next year. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper
October 22, 2018 Read Full Article
President Opens up E15 Sales: Trump Directs EPA to Allow Year-Round E15 and a More Transparent RINs Market
by Chris Clayton and Todd Neeley (DTN The Progressive Farmer) Leading into President Donald Trump's trip to Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Tuesday, a senior White House official said Tuesday that the president has directed the Environmental Protection Agency to create a
October 09, 2018 Read Full Article
Trump Hints at Iowa Trip to Announce 'Something Very Important'
by Donnelle Eller (Des Moines Register) President Donald Trump on Monday hinted at a possible upcoming trip to Iowa to announce "something very important" while touting a new U.S. trade deal with Canada and Mexico. The comments came as Trump thanked Sen. Joni Ernst
October 03, 2018 Read Full Article
Energy Security: A Bipartisan Issue in a Partisan Year
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... What this country — and every country — needs is a bigger vision so that the friends of energy security are not divided by their differences on technology or feedstock but are united toward a
October 02, 2018 Read Full Article
Minnesota Congressman Tours Syngenta R&D Site
(Syngenta/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Rep. Jason Lewis, R-Minn., recently toured the Syngenta Seeds Stanton, Minnesota, R&D facility and North America Seedcare Institute and participated in a discussion on the future of biofuels, including home-grown American ethanol. ... “Recently I toured Syngenta’s Seedcare Institute and
October 01, 2018 Read Full Article
Update1-White House Mulls Limits on Biofuel Trading as Part of E15 Deal-Sources
by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The White House is considering imposing restrictions on trading of biofuel credits, hoping to discourage speculation and reduce costs for oil refiners to comply with U.S. biofuels policy, according to three sources familiar with the discussions. ... The move
September 29, 2018 Read Full Article
Election 2018: Clean Energy’s Future Could Rise or Fall with 36 Governors' Races
by Marianne Lavelle and Dan Gearino (Inside Climate News) Governors have the power to set the agenda on renewable energy or throw up roadblocks to its progress. It's become an issue in several races this year. -- Some of the most consequential elections
September 28, 2018 Read Full Article
Smith Awarded “High Octane Champion" Award from Nebraska's Ethanol Industry
by Chad Moyer (KTIC Radio) Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) has been recognized as a 2018 High Octane Champion by Renewable Fuels Nebraska, the trade association for Nebraska’s ethanol industry. The award was developed by the RFN membership as a way to
September 24, 2018 Read Full Article
Midterm Elections, RVO Decisions, and Lame Duck Tax Relief
by Michael McAdams (Advanced Biofuels Association) ... When testifying recently before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the acting administrator was judicious in answering questions about EPA’s small refinery exemptions (SREs). He has publicly stated that there should be more
September 21, 2018 Read Full Article
Letter to Editor: Legislators, Please End Renewable Fuel Restrictions
by Bob Bowman (Clinton Herald) The ethanol industry is critical to the Midwest, supporting thousands of jobs and adding billions of dollars to our economy. It also drives corn demand at a time when Iowa farm family income is at the
September 20, 2018 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK -- Justin Worland
In a Time Magazine article, Justin Worland reminds us that "For many farmers, Trump appears to have sided with the oil industry, which they believe exerts undue influence on ethanol policy. It’s an argument that Trump himself once used when
September 17, 2018 Read Full Article
Why Donald Trump Is Feeling the Heat From Midwestern Farmers
by Justin Worland (Time Magazine) On the campaign trail, Donald Trump made two big promises: renegotiating free trade agreements and helping corn growers by supporting ethanol. ... As tensions over trade have proven painful to Midwestern farmers in the short term, demands
September 14, 2018 Read Full Article
Elizabeth Warren Leads Push by Democrats to Force Public Companies Make Climate-Risk Disclosures
by Francine McKenna (Market Watch) The Climate Risk Disclosure Act directs the SEC to issue rules that require every public company to disclose more on climate change exposure -- Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is spearheading an effort by Democratic senators to bring
September 14, 2018 Read Full Article
Will Dems Act on GHGs after a Midterm Win? It's Complicated
by Nick Sobczyk (E&E News) Democrats have long billed themselves as the party of climate science, and if they take back the House in November, they want to put global warming back on the congressional calendar. "It's the 800-pound gorilla," said Rep.
September 03, 2018 Read Full Article
Trump Offers Trade Aid to Farmers, but Some Question Its Fairness
by Helena Bottemiller Evich, Catherine Boudreau and Liz Crampton (Politico) The Trump administration on Monday detailed how it will dole out $6.3 billion in aid to assist farmers stung by retaliatory tariffs — and it’s already sparking backlash from some sectors
August 28, 2018 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK -- Patty Judge
"The good news is there is an opportunity in 2018 and 2020 for progressives to reconnect with rural voters in a meaningful way. It starts with more listening and far less political rhetoric. It will require an embrace of change
August 16, 2018 Read Full Article
How Progressives Can Reconnect with Rural Voters
by Patty Judge (Des Moines Register/Focus on Rural America) ... Many of the political elites on the coasts have argued that progressives should simply write off the rural Midwest because it is too white, too old and too conservative to ever
August 16, 2018 Read Full Article
Hubbell Wants More Support for Farmers Hurt by Trade War
by Rod Boshart (Sioux City Journal) Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred Hubbell called out Gov. Kim Reynolds Saturday for not taking a more-aggressive public stance on behalf of Iowa farmers and rural interests being hurt by President Trump's trade war with China
August 13, 2018 Read Full Article
Farmers Crowd in to Hear Minnesota Governor Candidates
by Don Davis (Forum News Service/Fairbault Daily News) Minnesota’s five major governor candidates bent over backwards to show they are on farmers’ side during the first forum with them all. ... Farmers and agri-business people were eager to hear what they had to
August 10, 2018 Read Full Article
California Drivers Pay Growing Cost for Climate Program
by David R. Baker (San Francisco Chronicle) A California program to fight climate change may now add more to the cost of gasoline than the state gas-tax increase that many voters want to repeal. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard, designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions
August 10, 2018 Read Full Article
McCaskill Visits Biofuel Plants in Missouri on Primary Day
by Andy Banker (KPLR11) Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill spent the primary election day visiting biofuel plants in Missouri. “Happy Primary Day,” McCaskill said while getting off her campaign bus to tour MidAmerica Biofuels in Mexico, Missouri. It was her last stop before heading
August 08, 2018 Read Full Article
Leahy among Lawmakers Taking Farm Bill to Conference
(WCAX) Both houses of Congress have passed their respective versions of the Farm Bill, a massive piece of legislation that affects farmers around the country. Now, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, will try to come together to
August 07, 2018 Read Full Article
With Trade War, Farmer Support for Trump Erodes Sharply
by Chuck Abbott (Fern's Ag Insider) One-in-seven farmers who voted for President Trump in 2016 would not vote for him today, according to a poll released on Monday. The escalating trade war was the leading cause of erosion for Trump among
August 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Biofuels: A Straightforward Fix for US Farmers’ Tariff Exposure to China?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This is the first of a two-part series in which we look at strategic shifts in global commodity prices and policies that could dramatically impact the outlook for biofuels, In this part, we look at grain
July 24, 2018 Read Full Article
House Votes to Denounce Carbon Taxes. Where Was the Climate Solutions Caucus?
by Marianne Lavelle (Inside Climate News) Only 4 of the 43 Republicans who claim membership in the Climate Solutions Caucus voted against the resolution. All were early members of the group. The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a resolution denouncing
July 20, 2018 Read Full Article
Fight Heats up over Washington State Carbon ‘Fee’ Likely to Make Fall Ballot
by Hal Bernton (Seattle Times) Proponents of a Washington carbon-fee initiative showed up at the Secretary of State’s office in Olympia with more than 370,000 signatures to put their measure on the November ballot. The signatures tally for Initiative 1631 — backed
July 11, 2018 Read Full Article
Anti-Fossil Fuel Candidates Come out Winners in Party Primaries
by Mark Hand (ThinkProgress) Democratic nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has one of the most ambitious climate plans. -- An impressive list of anti-fossil fuel and pro-climate action candidates won party primaries on Tuesday night, indicating that environmental issues could receive greater attention in
June 29, 2018 Read Full Article
Justice Kennedy’s Retirement Could Reshape the Environment
by Robinson Meyer (The Atlantic) A new justice will likely weaken the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. -- ... With Kennedy gone, a more conservative Supreme Court could overhaul key aspects of the Clean Air Act, the
June 29, 2018 Read Full Article
Drain the Swamp: Fire Pruitt at EPA
(The Courier) ... Yet (Iowa Senator Joni) Ernst’s recent attack against Pruitt at a Washington energy forum was triggered over Pruitt’s “lies” about the Renewable Fuel Standard: not expanding year-round sales for the 15 percent corn-based ethanol fuel blend, while
June 25, 2018 Read Full Article
Midwest Trump Voters Losing Faith in His Commitment to Biofuels
(National Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine) New polling shows that voters across three Midwestern states are disappointed with Trump administration decisions they view as broken promises of support for local agriculture and renewable fuels industries. In a survey of voters in Iowa, Missouri and
June 18, 2018 Read Full Article
No Hard Feelings? President Donald Trump Will Campaign with GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) President Donald Trump will campaign with GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer next week — a trip that could extinguish any lingering tensions between the White House and the Senate hopeful, after the president has treated
June 18, 2018 Read Full Article
DNC Quietly Adopts Ban On Fossil Fuel Company Donations
by Alexander C. Kaufman (Huffington Post) The Democratic National Committee voted over the weekend to ban donations from fossil fuel companies, HuffPost has learned. The resolution ― proposed by Christine Pelosi, a party activist and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s daughter
June 13, 2018 Read Full Article
Pruitt Heads out on Ethanol Visit
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is expected to travel to Kansas this morning, where he'll stop by East Kansas Agri-Energy's ethanol plant in Garnett. The trip comes a week after the White House quashed the release
June 12, 2018 Read Full Article
Renewable Energy Jobs on the Ballot
by Matt Carr (The Hill/New Energy America) If I asked you the most important state for renewable energy, what comes to mind? Is it California? ... Let me make the case for a state that may not have immediately come to mind as
June 08, 2018 Read Full Article
Trump’s Support Wavering in Farm Country Over Ethanol, Trade Moves
by Alan Bjerga and Mario Parker (Bloomberg) EPA chief seen as betraying Trump’s promises on biofuels; Trade tensions put demand for agricultural goods at risk -- Even as Donald Trump tweets his support for U.S. agriculture, farmer loyalty for the president looks like it’s starting
June 05, 2018 Read Full Article
On The Front Lines: The Old Battle between Ethanol and Oil Takes Center Stage with the RFS.
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Ethanol Producer Magazine recaps the many recent attempts to hinder the policy, and looks beyond 2022. -- ... But leaders in the ethanol industry are quick to point out this fight is not new; it’s the
June 04, 2018 Read Full Article
A Blueprint for Keeping Midwest Dollars in the Midwest
by Dave VanderGriend (Urban Air Initiative/ICM/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Urban Air Initiative President Dave VanderGriend says increasing the availability of ethanol blender pumps and higher blends will keep ethanol in the Midwest, pumping millions of dollars into the economy. -- ... The problem
June 04, 2018 Read Full Article
TSITRIAN: Trump No Friend of Family Farmers
by John Tsitrian (Rapid City Journal) ... And forgetting about soybeans for a minute, there's the matter of Trump administration policy on the ethanol mandate, aka the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a major matter for corn producers. Trump's Environmental Protection
May 23, 2018 Read Full Article
Grassley vs Pruitt: Will Billionaire Bailouts or Biofuels Prevail?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Trump in a pickle: support his beleaguered EPA Administrator over oil refinery bailouts, or rally his Midwestern farm-state base? -- In Washington, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa tweeted: “I’ve supported Pruitt but if he pushes changes to RFS
May 16, 2018 Read Full Article
Voters Should Challenge Candidates on Iowa’s Energy Future
by Katie Rock (Des Moines Register/Center for Rural Affairs) Iowa’s future as a leader in renewable energy is on the ballot in 2018. As legislators head home and campaigns gear up for important primary elections, voters should call attention to key
May 14, 2018 Read Full Article
King Tells Iowa RFA: “I Want Ethanol sold TO, THROUGH, and BEYOND the E15 Blend.”
(4-Traders) Congressman King Pledges Continued Biofuel Support to Iowa Renewable Fuels Association -- Congressman Steve King, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, released the following statement after meeting today with members of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. During their meeting, Congressman
April 18, 2018 Read Full Article
California May Tweak Climate Program That’s Pushing up Gas Prices
by David R. Baker (Seattle Times) ... Last week, the California Air Resources Board issued proposed changes that would delay some of the program’s targets, giving fuel providers more time to reach them. Instead of needing to cut the carbon intensity of
March 12, 2018 Read Full Article
2018 Is the Year of Scientists Running for Congress
by Ben Guarino and Laurie McGinley (The Washington Post) ... “I absolutely feel that science is under attack,” (Joseph) Kopser said. “It’s the opposite of when John F. Kennedy said he wanted to get us to the moon in less than 10
March 05, 2018 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
As reported in a National Public Radio article, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) about the 2018 mid-term elections: "He recently warned Houston-area Republicans, 'The left is going to show up. They will crawl over broken glass in November to vote.'" READ
March 05, 2018 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
The biofuels-related portion of the 2018 election campaign season is off to a quick start with Jeff Broin, founder and CEO of POET, making a case for including the expansion of ethanol markets via year-round consumer choice of E15 across the
February 02, 2018 Read Full Article
Broin Brings E15 Message to Pence Summit at Trump Hotel
(The Fence Post/Hagstrom Report) Jeff Broin, founder and CEO of POET, the South Dakota company that builds and manages ethanol plants, brought his view that the government needs to authorize the sale of E15 blend year-round to a State of the
February 02, 2018 Read Full Article
Cruz Taps Texas Mistrust of Ethanol
by James Osborne (Houston Chronicle) Attack on federal biofuels mandate provides chance to appeal to base -- ... But for the junior senator, facing re-election this year as Democrats show new swagger in the age of Trump, ethanol provides the chance to appeal