We Need to Get Government Out of the Way

Press Release

Today, Iowa Congressman David Young joined with his colleagues on the Congressional Biofuels Caucus urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release final Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) renewable volume obligations (RVOs) that actually follow congressional intent.

Earlier this year, the EPA proposed RVOs for 2014, 2015, and 2016 that fell below the levels mandated by Congress in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The EPA received over 670,000 comments on its proposal and is scheduled to release the final RVOs by November 30.

Congressman Young said, "The biofuels industry is flourishing and yet the EPA is not only getting in the way, they are deliberately circumventing the intent of the law to undermine this vital national industry."

Young continued, "This has to stop. Each week I go home to Iowa and I always hear about an overbearing government that is too big and too involved in our lives. The job creators I talk to are fed up with this way of doing business. They want accountability and transparency, and some good Iowan commonsense. And I agree, the EPA needs to listen to the people that their rules and regulations impact."

This letter builds on Young's previous work to reduce uncertainty for farmers, biofuels producers, and consumers. In June, Young led the Iowa delegation in calling on the EPA to host a public hearing on the proposed RFS RVOs in Iowa so it could hear from ethanol and biodiesel leaders. A copy of the letter is available here. Young also submitted written testimony for the RFS hearing that the EPA held in Kansas City. Finally, Young has been using his position on the House Appropriations Committee to keep anti-RFS policy riders out of fiscal year 2016 appropriations bills.

Iowa as a biofuels leader:
Iowa produces nearly 3.9 billion of ethanol and 227 million gallons of biodiesel in 2014. Iowa also has two next-generation cellulosic ethanol facilities and another coming into production this year. In addition, retailers across the state offer ethanol and biodiesel blends to consumers. Further, studies have shown that the renewable fuel industry has contributed over $19 billion annually to the Iowa economy and supported over 70,000 high-paying jobs. The RFS has also helped reduce the country's dependency on foreign oil, promoted cleaner air, reduced prices at the pump, and supported domestic, rural industry.

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