US House members urge new EPA Administrator Zeldin to get RFS back on track

Reps. Adrian Smith, R-Nebraska, and Angie Craig, D-Minnesota, led nearly 30 colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter Feb. 6 to recently confirmed U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

The letter emphasizes the important role of the American biofuels industry in maximizing energy abundance and affordability while encouraging EPA to issue timely and science-driven guidance to fulfill the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Smith and Craig are co-chairs of the Congressional Biofuels Caucus.

“Steady growth in U.S. biofuel production means more American fuel in the marketplace and lower prices at the pump for hardworking families who have spent years suffering under high inflation,” the letter states. “Homegrown fuels serve as a bulwark against price manipulation by foreign, state-owned oil exporters. They also promise to play a central role in fulfilling our vision for strengthening the farm economy, supporting domestic processing and revitalizing rural communities. Ethanol contributed more than $54 billion to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, accounting for 28 percent of U.S. farming GDP while sustaining over 394,000 jobs. Similarly, the U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel industry, with plants and markets across the country, supports 75,200 U.S. jobs and pays $3.6 billion in annual wages. Biobased diesel drives more than $23.2 billion in annual economic activity.”

The legislators told Zeldin that, under his leadership, they request the agency put the RFS back on track by providing a path for growth for all biofuels and rejecting proposals to undermine the statute and destabilize the market. 

“Additionally, EPA must eliminate decades-old regulatory barriers to growth so all retailers in all 50 states can offer E15 year-round if they so choose,” the letter states. “E15 lowers gas prices for consumers, creates new markets for our farmers and helps reduce our energy dependence from foreign countries. To account for innovation in technology, feedstocks, fuel utilization and carbon sequestration, EPA must ensure timely administrative actions which encourage growth in the industry.”

Read the full letter here.

The letter is supported by numerous stakeholder organizations including Renewable Fuels Nebraska, Nebraska Corn Growers Association, Growth Energy, Renewable Fuels Association, Clean Fuels Alliance America, National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, ADM, Bayer, Darling Ingredients, Poet, Green Plains, Renew Kansas, Iowa Renewable Fuels and Iowa Corn Growers.

In September, Smith and Craig introduced the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act to enable the year-round nationwide sale of E15.

Smith has long championed the issue of year-round availability of ethanol blends up to 15 percent.

In 2024, he pushed the Biden administration to extend the availability of E15 during the summer to provide American consumers with access to an affordable biofuel alternative at their local gas station.