Market News & Headlines >> Senators Introduce Bill to Expand E-15 Availability

A bipartisan group of 15 Corn Belt senators is sponsoring a bill that would allow nationwide sales of E15 gasoline year-round and for the first time, the move has the support of an oil industry group.

The legislation was introduced on Tuesday by Senators Deb Fischer, R-Neb. and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and is supported by the American Petroleum Institute (API).  While it is unknown if the bill has the support it needs to pass both houses of Congress and become law, the oil industry backing means it has already cleared a substantial political hurdle.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) anti-smog regulations currently restrict summertime sales of E15. The bill, called the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2022, would adjust the Clean Air Act’s fuel volatility standards to allow year-round sales of ethanol blends higher than 10%.

In addition to the API backing, the bill has the support of SIGMA, National Association of Truck Stop Operators, the Renewable Fuels  Association, Growth Energy, the National Corn Growers Association, the American Coalition for Ethanol, the National Farmers Union and the America Farm Bureau Federation.

Similar legislation has been introduced at least five times previously since 2014, without securing approval, so passage of the current bill would be a big win for ethanol backers.