The U.S. House voted 218-203 Wednesday to approve a bill expanding access to 15% ethanol gasoline, or E15. The bill – H.R. 1346 – removes restrictions preventing its sale in about many states during the summer months due to high evaporative emission rates.
Before the final vote, House lawmaker also formally detached E15 provisions from the previously approved five-year farm bill. Both pieces of legislation are headed to the Senate.
Supporters call E15 a win for consumers, corn producers and American energy. Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Nebraska) introduced the bill.
“This debate comes down to a simple question: Do we want more affordable fuel, stronger energy independence, and expanded markets for American agriculture, or do we want to continue allowing uncertainty and politics to stand in the way?” Smith said at a press conference Tuesday.
Amid a continuing war with Iran choking fuel supplies and raising prices, some tout E15 as a solution to stabilize gasoline prices. E15 can cost between 10 and 30 cents less per gallon compared to regular gasoline.
“Right now, with gas prices averaging more than $4 a gallon in Kansas, people are feeling the pressure everywhere they go,” said Democratic Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids during floor debate on the bill Wednesday. “Just yesterday at a gas station in Kansas, I was at a gas station where fuel with E15 was 15 cents cheaper than regular unleaded.”
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association celebrated the passage as a win against “outdated and unjustified” regulations often bypassed by federal waivers.
“A top priority for farmers and retailers, E15 will provide lower cost options for motorists while providing a much-needed market for U.S. farmers,” the group said in a statement.
Ethanol supporters say E15 could provide more demand for corn – around 2.4 billion bushels per year – and provide long-term market stabilization to producers.
“Stronger markets are what we need. We know that crop prices have been pretty painful lately, and producers are feeling that pain,” Smith told Nebraska Public Media News on Tuesday. “This is a way to grow markets rather than look for assistance from the federal government in the form of monetary assistance.”
The Wisconsin Corn Growers Association said in a statement the move to expand E15 follows four straight years of net losses and rising input costs.
“Year-round E15 means more demand for our corn and lower prices at the pump for drivers,” said Paul Jarvis, the association’s president.
Disagreements across party lines originally postponed a final vote, and lawmakers launched an unsuccessful attempt to return the bill to committee just before a final vote was taken.
In an opinion editorial written for The Hill, Republican representatives Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Chip Roy of Texas said a boost in ethanol production would pull profits away from small refineries and expand costly Renewable Fuel Standard blending requirements.
“Without reforms to the underlying rule, the E15 expansion entrenches a hidden gas tax, drives up food and fuel prices, slashes vehicle efficiency, threatens refining jobs, and undermines American energy dominance,” the representatives wrote. “Republicans who champion free markets and affordable energy must oppose it.”
E15 supporters deny those claims, saying the exemptions provided in the bill are enough.
The fight for year-round E15 has continued for over a decade. Democratic Rep. James McGovern of Massachusetts expressed concern that the Senate will ignore the E15 bill, since it was decoupled from the farm bill.
“You’re reversing your position. You insisted you fought to get this attached to the farm bill, and now we have a rule that will unattach it to the farm bill,” McGovern said during floor debate. “I don’t understand why you-flip-flopped on this issue, but you can explain that to your farmers.”
The bill would also add about $2 billion to the deficit, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released on Tuesday. Some lawmakers worry that could further damage its chances in the Senate.
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association disagrees:
“To the naysayers that claim Senate E15 approval is impossible, I’ll simply note that’s the same thing you said about House passage just days ago.” Executive Director Monte Shaw said. “Confuse Midwest ‘nice’ with a lack of fortitude at your own peril.”
Timing of a potential Senate vote is unclear, and passage is uncertain as opposition and support crosses the political aisle.
Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley thanked representatives following the vote and promised to do all he could to get the bill passed.
“Iowa’s family farmers are counting on the Senate to deliver year-round E15,” he said in a video posted on Facebook. “I’m going to keep fighting until we get this bill to the president’s desk, and the president had made very clear a couple of months ago in Iowa that he’s waiting to sign that bill.”
Harvest Public Media is a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest and Great Plains. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
