The ethanol industry is hopeful of a final win soon on a permanent fix for restricted summertime E15 sales. The House has already acted as part of a package of livestock competition bills to permanently allow summertime E15 sales that received a Biden waiver just for this summer.
Now, Renewable Fuels Association chief Geoff Cooper says it’s up to the Senate to act.
“We are expecting that the Senate is going to give those provisions a very hard look if they decide to try to do something before the August recess,” he said.
The Senate Ag Committee last month advanced two cattle market reform bills, including Senator Chuck Grassley’s Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act.
“So, it could fold very well into any package he and his colleagues might be considering. That includes some of the meatpacking provisions and other things that he’s been focused on,” Cooper said.
As for E15’s chances after seven Midwest Republicans broke ranks and backed the House bill.
“We would expect the same thing to happen in the Senate. In fact, there’s probably more bipartisan interest in the Senate around the provisions that were in that bill that slipped through the House,” he said.
And ahead of the November elections, both parties will be looking for anything they can point to as possibly reducing near-record gas prices.
The NAFB contributed this story.
Listen to Sabrina Halvorson’s program here.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.