Infrastructure bill without biofuels investment is ‘unacceptable,’ Axne says

U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, said it is “unacceptable” that a bipartisan infrastructure bill the White House and U.S. Senate agreed to does not include investments in biofuels.

“While I commend the White House and Senators for continuing to work toward creating bipartisan infrastructure legislation that can tackle issues ranging from aging bridges and roads to expanding access to high-speed internet, it’s unacceptable to see that this agreement still does not include investments in a bipartisan, homegrown clean energy source—biofuels,” Axne said. “For months, I have been helping members of the administration, the Senate, and my own colleagues in the House understand the key advantages of biofuels—from the fact that it’s been proven to be more than twice as clean as fossil fuels to its support for our rural communities, agricultural economy, and hundreds of thousands of American jobs.”

Although Axne said she is withholding her final decision on the infrastructure agreement until there is actual text to be read in a bill, she added that she will have “strong reservations about supporting the final bill if there is no pathway for critical investments in our biofuels sector.”

Rep. Axne is a co-chair of the House Biofuels Caucus and a lead sponsor of legislation to expand investments in biofuel infrastructure, upgrade the EPA’s authority on E15 sales, update the modeling for biofuel and biodiesel emissions, and extend the biodiesel tax credit.

For months, the congresswoman has made it clear that biofuels investments are a key priority for her in any infrastructure agenda. In April, she urged relevant House committee chairs to include biofuels investments in infrastructure discussions. In June, Axne made these reservations clear to the leaders of both parties in both chambers of Congress.