Ernst Pushes for Year-Round E15

WASHINGTON – As the summer driving season quickly approaches, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, joined her colleagues to request the Trump administration issue year-round, nationwide E15 waivers to provide certainty for Iowa producers, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and give consumers choices at the pump. 

Earlier this week, Ernst highlighted Iowa biofuels as a key solution to achieving energy independence when she joined Secretary Rollins in Iowa for an announcement on the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP). 

“To meet our nation’s energy needs and decrease the cost of fuel, we must deploy an all-of-the-above energy strategy, which includes leveraging domestic biofuels.  As affirmed by the actions you took to first allow year-round E15 in 2019, and those approved for the summers afterward, the sale of higher blends of biofuels like E15 through the summer months supports the domestic fuel supply, reduces consumer costs, and promotes American biofuels and agriculture feedstocks,” wrote the senators. 

“Utilizing American ethanol year-round is a direct solution to reinforcing our energy supply and reducing consumer costs, and the issuance of a nationwide waiver for the 2025 summer driving season is a clear path toward these shared goals,” the senators concluded.

Read the full letter here. 

Background:

Throughout her time in Congress, Ernst has been a strong advocate for homegrown, Iowa biofuels. Since 2015, she has supported legislation to permanently allow the nationwide sale of year-round E15. She looks forward to partnering with the Trump administration to make it a reality.

In March 2024, Ernst and the entire Iowa delegation urged President Biden to immediately issue an emergency waiver, which would make E15 available across the country and utilize the strength of American agriculture to provide energy independence. In April 2024, Ernst and a bipartisan group of senators once again called on President Biden to permit the summertime sale of E15 fuel and finally secured year-round, nationwide E15 sales for the entire 2024 driving season.

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