WASHINGTON, DC - Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Energy and Power Subcommittee Vice Chairman Pete Olson (R-TX), and Environment and the Economy Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL), today issued the following statement in response to EPA’s final rule setting out the 2017 requirements for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
“We need to strike the right balance for everyone affected by the RFS - farmers, biofuel producers, refiners, carmakers, and most importantly consumers. We will continue to monitor the program and its impacts," said Upton, Olson, and Shimkus. “We also appreciate that, unlike previous years, EPA finalized its 2017 rule by the deadline, which greatly facilitates compliance."
The RFS specifies increasing amounts of renewable fuels to be added to the nation’s gasoline and diesel fuel supply each year through 2022, but it provides EPA with some authority to lower the annual volumes as circumstances warrant. The volumes for 2017 are slightly higher than proposed by EPA, reflecting the agency’s belief that more of these fuels can be utilized without any problems. For corn ethanol, the final target is 15 billion gallons, which is the amount originally set by Congress in 2007.
