Ernst: Biden’s EPA refuses to recognize the domestic, homegrown solution readily available today

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) released the following statement after the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes impacting Iowa’s biofuel industry.

“The Biden administration continues its climate crusade, which has turned into a race to energy dependence, and intentionally failed to expand opportunities for ethanol and biodiesel. On one hand, the Biden administration says they want cleaner fuel options, but then they refuse to recognize the domestic, homegrown solution readily available today. Iowa farmers and biofuel producers simply need the green light to charge forward. Despite biofuel reducing costs at the pump for consumers, providing markets for our farmers, and being a cleaner solution today and in the future, the Biden EPA is failing to protect our energy security,” said Senator Ernst.

Background:

Ernst has been a relentless champion for Iowa’s biofuel producers and farmers and a fierce defender of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In October 2022, bipartisan lawmakers, including Ernst, called for EPA to set robust RFS blending volumes to reflect the growth of the biofuels industry. In April, Ernst joined a bipartisan letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan calling for a stronger RFS and increasing volumes for advanced biofuels and biodiesel.

Ernst has reminded President Biden of the promises he made on the campaign trail to support the biofuel industry and the family farmers who rely on it, after reports indicated that the Biden administration was weighing bailouts for Big Oil and undermining the RFS.

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