Corn Growers Praise Farm Bill Movement, Demand Action on E15

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act (H.R. 7567). Ag leaders in the House indicated that a vote on a bill to expand year-round consumer access to fuels with 15% ethanol blends, or E15, would be voted on in a couple of weeks.

In response to these developments, Ohio farmer and National Corn Growers Association President Jed Bower released the following statement:

"We are pleased to see that the House passed the Farm Bill. The legislation includes important provisions in the conservation, trade, credit, rural development, research and energy titles. USDA programs are important to the success of corn farmers and rural communities, particularly as our growers face their fourth year of net losses and struggle with high input costs. We applaud Chairman GT Thompson for shepherding this legislation toward passage.

"We look forward to working with our allies in Congress over the next two weeks to secure passage of the E15 legislation. Thanks to continued efforts on this issue from our biofuel champions, Speaker Johnson promised a vote on E15, and we refuse to allow a handful of multi-million and multi-billion-dollar energy companies to derail our efforts. Allowing the year-round sale of E15 would help our growers by expanding ethanol sales while also saving consumers money at the pump at a time when fuel prices are on the rise.

"We are deeply appreciative of Rep. Michelle Fischbach and the 40 bipartisan co-sponsors, including House Rural Domestic Energy Council Co-Chairs Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) and Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), who proposed this legislation and continue to fight for a floor vote. We also want to thank specifically Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn), Nikki Budzinski (R-Ill), Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) and Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) for their support. We are confident that when the vote is held, the E15 bill will have strong support from members on both sides of the aisle."