Agricultural News
Growth Energy Applauds Senator Letter Rejecting Attack on U.S. Biofuels
Fri, 08 May 2020 07:37:43 CDT
Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor thanked 24 senators, who sent a letter calling on President Trump to reject oil-backed efforts to eliminate the biofuels industry under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Led by U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the senators wrote that waiving the RFS would "exacerbate the effects experienced by the biofuel sector as a result of COVID-19, causing far-reaching detrimental impacts on employment, farmers, food security, fuel prices, and the environment."
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"We're grateful to our champions who are standing shoulder to shoulder with rural communities confronting a wave of biofuel plant closures, farm bankruptcies, and demand destruction amid the COVID-19 pandemic," said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. "The oil industry's transparent attempts to capitalize on the current health crisis to steal markets from farmers and biofuel producers threatens to dash hopes of an economic recovery in America's farm belt. ?Our lawmakers and governors have made it clear that any move to further weaken biofuel markets is a non-starter, and we urge the administration to swiftly reject oil-backed attacks on the RFS.
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"Now, more than ever, we need leaders to stand up for rural America and deliver the urgent relief our industry needs to protect biofuel jobs and their vital role in the agricultural supply chain from producing animal feed for livestock operations to carbon dioxide for meatpackers and municipal water treatment."
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The senators also debunked false claims that complying with the RFS negatively impacts refiners and warned President Trump that "Removing biofuels from gasoline and diesel will also lead to an increase of greenhouse gas emissions, particulate matter, and toxins causing degradation to our air quality." Their message echoes concerns raised earlier this month by five U.S. governors, who wrote that "Using this global pandemic as an excuse to undercut the RFS is not just illegal; it would also sever the economic lifeline that renewable fuels provide for farmers, workers and rural communities across the Midwest."
Read the full letter here.
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