News

Franken with strong words for Trump Administration

A U.S. Senator critical of the EPA proposal to scale back requirements of advanced biofuels in the Renewable Fuel Standard has some strong comments for the Trump Administration.

 

Senator Al Franken, a democrat from Minnesota, suggests Big Oil has plenty of influence on President Trump and members of his cabinet.

“Unfortunately I think this administration has been captured by the fossil fuel industry.  It’s pretty well known the Koch brothers do a lot of political giving, and there are segments of the Republican Party that are very tied to the fossil fuel industry.  And they’ve been hostile to biofuels.”

While Franken applauds the EPA for raising the ethanol mandate to statutory levels after years of struggle with the Obama Administration, he remains skeptical of Scott Pruitt—who was critical of the RFS during his time as Attorney General of Oklahoma.

“Administrator Pruitt is very much a fossil fuel guy.”

The EPA is taking comments before finalizing the renewable volume obligations for 2018 and 19, probably around the end of November.

Brownfield interviewed Franken following an Energy Roundtable discussion in Mankato Wednesday.