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Grassley comments on last week’s WH biofuels discussion

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he discussed EPA’s biofuels proposal in a White House meeting last week with President Trump and EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler.

Grassley says Wheeler assured him that farmers and ethanol producers shouldn’t be worried that the 15 billion gallon ethanol production goal will be met. But Grassley says he reminded Wheeler that farmers don’t have much confidence in the EPA.

“I told Wheeler he’s going to have to take some very clear actions to show—and the way the regulation is written, there’s going to have to be a few sentences changed here and there to convince the American farmer,” Grassley says.

President Trump also repeated the promise he made to farmers, Grassley says.

“The president has not changed his mind at all that 15 billion gallons means 15 billion gallons, regardless of the number of gallons that are waived for small refineries, and they’re added back in.”

The National Corn Growers Association and American Farm Bureau have submitted their comments on the EPA’s proposal.

Both groups are calling on EPA to change the rule to reflect small refinery exemptions actually granted by the EPA, rather than Department of Energy recommendations.

The deadline for commenting on EPA’s biofuels proposal is this Friday, the 29^th.