CongressmanBob Goodlatte

Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Steve Womack (R-Ark.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) released the following statement in response the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) release today of final annual mandatory blending volumes for biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS):

“Forcing more ethanol into the market – while hurting consumers, food producers, and small engines across the nation – is not the solution. While well-intentioned, it has been clear for some time now that the RFS is a broken policy. The EPA’s action today ignores basic economic and scientific facts, and sets the industry on a path that will be disastrous for families, small businesses and retailers, the agriculture community, food aid organizations, and the environment. Announcing higher fuel volumes for 2017 only emphasizes the unfairness of this mandate, and the need for Congress to step in and stop the harmful impacts. There are several good solutions on the table in the House to help lessen the effects of the ethanol mandate, including the RFS Reform Act, which we have introduced. Reforming the RFS remains a priority, and we will continue working to see a legislative fix move forward in Congress.”

The RFS Reform Act (H.R. 704) eliminates corn-based ethanol requirements, caps the amount of ethanol that can be blended into conventional gasoline at 10 percent, and requires the EPA to set cellulosic biofuels levels at production levels. Today’s announcement by the EPA sets ethanol levels above the blend wall, the point at which many small engines can safely use ethanol blended gasoline.