Grassley, Thune, Colleagues Urge Trump to Authorize Nationwide, Year-Round Sale of E15

Grassley, Thune, Colleagues Urge Trump to Authorize Nationwide, Year-Round Sale of E15

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues in urging President Trump to permit the nationwide sale of E15 fuel through the 2025 summer driving season and beyond. The move would enhance America's energy security and lower fuel costs for consumers while leveraging American agriculture.

"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," the senators wrote. "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.

"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 continued.

The senators' bipartisan letter requests that President Trump use the nationwide temporary waivers provided under the Clean Air Act to extend the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver through the 2025 summer driving season.

Additional cosigners include Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.).

Background:

On the first day of his second term, President Trump directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to explore the benefits of making E15 available year-round through his Executive Order Declaring a National Energy Emergency.

Grassley has long-championed year-round E15:

1. April 2024: Welcoming the EPA's announcement permitting summertime E15 sales in eight Midwestern states

1. December 2023: Pushing the Biden administration to quickly finalize a summertime waiver, helping retailers prepare for summer 2024 sales

1. May 2021: Introducing legislation to restore integrity to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)

1. May 2019: Leading the effort to encourage the first Trump administration to approve year-round E15

1. October 2018: Authoring an op-ed with Sen. Ernst in support of year-round E15

1. October 2010: Welcoming the EPA's decision first authorizing E15 usage

Full text of the letter to President Trump is available HERE.

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