Klobuchar Statement on Proposed Biofuels Rulemaking
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, released the statement below on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) release of its proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2023, 2024 and 2025.
“The EPA’s proposed rule is strong and will provide much-needed certainty for farmers and producers across our state. It includes blending requirements that will support homegrown biofuel production and maintains the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard, priorities that I’ve long advocated for. As the EPA continues to develop this rule, I’ll keep pushing to ensure that its final RVO standards reflect the key role renewable fuels play in diversifying our fuel supply and driving our economy forward.”
Klobuchar has long been a strong advocate for investing in renewable fuel infrastructure, increasing American biodiesel production, and upholding the Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
This week, she introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) to make E15 available year round. The Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2022 would enable the year-round, nationwide sale of ethanol blends higher than 10 percent, helping to lower fuel prices and provide certainty in fuel markets for farmers and consumers.
Last month, she partnered with Senators John Thune (R-SD), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and a bipartisan group of their colleagues to set strong biofuel volumes.
In July, she and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) led a bipartisan group of 22 colleagues in calling on the Biden administration to increase the proposed biodiesel volumes in the RVO for 2023 and 2024.
In April, Klobuchar and Thune called on the EPA to update its greenhouse gas modeling for biofuels.
In March, Klobuchar and Ernst introduced bipartisan legislation to expand the production and availability of American biofuels, following President Biden’s ban on importing Russian oil. The Home Front Energy Independence Act also included a provision to extend tax credit for biodiesel.
In February, Klobuchar and Grassley led a bipartisan letter pushing the EPA to prioritize the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by maintaining the blending requirements for 2022; denying all pending Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs); eliminating proposed retroactive cuts to the renewable volume obligations; and setting 2021 RFS volumes at the statutory levels.
Klobuchar and Grassley also introduced bipartisan legislation last December to provide certainty to biofuel producers by preventing the EPA from retroactively reducing RVO levels once finalized.
In September 2021, Klobuchar led a bicameral group of 11 colleagues in urging the Biden administration to reject any significant reduction in biofuel blending requirements. Last July, Klobuchar led a bicameral letter signed by 15 colleagues pushing the Biden administration to uphold RFS obligations for oil refiners.
