The U.S. House of Representatives on May 13 approved a bill that would permanently authorize nationwide, year-round commercial distribution of E15 gasoline—a fuel blend containing up to 15 percent ethanol—sending the measure to the Senate after a 218–203 vote.
H.R. 1346, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, would also allow E15, normally available seasonally due to smog concerns, to be sold year-round.
E15 is currently available at more than 4,900 retail fuel locations across the United States, and typically sells for 20 cents to 40 cents per gallon less than standard E10 gasoline, according to e85prices.com.
Under the Clean Air Act, E15 is barred from summer sale—generally from June 1 through Sept. 15—because its higher evaporation rate in hot weather increases the potential for ground-level ozone and smog formation, which violates the act’s Reid vapor pressure requirements.
Under the bill’s provisions, the Clean Air Act would be amended to extend to E15 the same Reid vapor pressure waiver currently granted to standard E10 gasoline, which would permanently lift the seasonal sales restriction.
States that can demonstrate that E15 increases their air pollution risk would retain the right to petition the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for an exclusion.
House Republicans were divided on the bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) cast dissenting votes, while Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) voted for the bill. One of the measure’s main supporters, Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), described the result as a win for farm states suffering from high fuel costs.
“Anybody who’s from Ag state, this is a huge win for them,” Nunn said. “We’re helping keep domestic energy successful, and we’re helping family farms.
“I appreciate that we can have differences in the Republican Party and still allow members to vote their districts.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said the bill would undermine domestic refining.
“If we need to do something to support farmers, let’s have a direct conversation about it, but expanding E15 is just the wrong direction to go because it’s going to harm refiners,” Roy said. “We’re making it massively difficult for refining capacity to grow in the United States. We’re not actually solving the problem here.”
According to the Congressional Budget Office, refiners would need to adjust their refinery processes “to produce the appropriate gasoline to be blended into E15.” The fuel mix would also require additional or specialized tanks and pumps, requiring retailers to install new equipment.
The bill comes months after the EPA on March 25 announced a temporary, 20-day nationwide fuel waiver—effective on May 1—allowing the sale of gasoline with higher ethanol concentrations in an attempt to ease rising fuel costs.
According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis, enacting the legislation would increase direct spending by $2.7 billion and generate $0.4 billion in new revenues, producing a net deficit increase of $2.3 billion from 2026 through 2036.
