America can't afford year-round E15 fuel — Congress must reject it |
America can’t afford year-round E15 fuel — Congress must reject it
As Congress debates proposals to allow the year-round sale of E15 gasoline — fuel blended with 15 percent corn ethanol rather than the common 10 percent blend — lawmakers are being told this is a simple win for consumers, farmers and energy security.
Unfortunately, evidence shows that is not the case.
In reality, “year-round E15” legislation would deepen an environmentally damaging and economically inefficient policy while increasing costs for American families already struggling with inflation.
And let’s be real, the proposal is not about energy independence. It is a back-door way to expand the domestic market for U.S. corn at consumers’ expense, after U.S. corn farmers and exports were shocked by the cancellation of more than 1 million tons of U.S. food aid (mostly corn) to countries with poor and undernourished children. Not to mention the catastrophic impacts to U.S. farmers as a result of the president’s tariff policies, which greatly reduced corn exports to China.
To be clear, farmers do need support in sustaining their livelihoods amid this tough policy environment. But this bill is not the answer.
The implications of the E15 proposal are enormous. If enacted, particularly alongside executive action supporting expanded ethanol mandates, the change could increase ethanol use by roughly 50 percent. That would require diverting corn production for food and feed on millions of acres into corn production for fuel, representing an area exceeding half the size of Indiana.
At a moment when the U.S. should be reducing pressure on land, water and food systems, Congress is instead........