Trump Urges Congress to Deliver Year-Round E15 Gasoline Sales Bill

A $1.2 trillion spending package has been sent to the Senate without any language authorizing year-round E15 sales.

The POET Bioprocessing processing plant that produces ethanol in Menlo, Iowa, on April 12, 2022. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump has reaffirmed his support for the year-round, nationwide sale of gasoline with 15 percent ethanol, increasing pressure on lawmakers to strike a deal on an issue that could have caused another government shutdown.

“In the campaign, I promised to support E15 all year round,” Trump said on Jan. 27 during a speech in Iowa, referring to fuels blended with up to 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline.

He said he is trusting House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), both of whom he called “great,” to find a deal that works.

“Congress will be sending me a bill very shortly supporting year-round E15 to my desk very quickly, and I will sign it without delay,” he said.

Eliminating seasonal restrictions on E15 has long been a priority for both Republicans and Democrats from farming states, where corn and soybean growers depend heavily on government subsidies encouraging production of biofuel materials.

But efforts to expand E15 sales have faced resistance from Republicans representing oil-producing and -refining states and from Democrats who are skeptical that biofuels meaningfully advance climate goals.

Under current rules, E15 generally cannot be sold during the summer months because of concerns about smog-forming emissions in hot weather, although the Trump administration has issued a temporary waiver to lift the restriction.

Speaking in Iowa, where biofuels make up a large share of the economy, Trump said any deal would need to work “for farmers, consumers, and refiners, including small and mid-sized refiners.”

Trump’s promise came after a $1.2 trillion spending package cleared the House on Jan. 22 without any language authorizing permanent year-round E15 sales.

Specifically, the bill did not include a proposed amendment from Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) to ease the way for E15 sales. Instead, it creates an “E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council” made up of members of Congress tasked with studying and debating the issue further. The council is supposed to produce recommendations by Feb. 15, and Congress is directed to consider E15 legislation by Feb. 25.

According to pro-E15 lawmakers, the issue was deemed so contentious that leadership decided to leave it out in order to secure enough votes in the Senate to keep the government funded past Jan. 30. The top two House Republicans—Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise—both represent Louisiana, a major oil-producing and -refining state.

Because E15 is detached from the spending bill, any change must move as stand-alone legislation.

“We pushed hard for E-15 in this week’s appropriations bill, but leadership determined it would not pass the Senate,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said on Facebook after the Jan. 22 vote. Illinois is a national leader in the biofuel industry, ranking second in ethanol production after Iowa.

“The last thing we wanted was a shutdown,” Bacon said. “We have a commitment to get a standalone E-15 vote in the coming two months and give us time to negotiate with the Senate to ensure it passes.”

Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) similarly stressed that the new rural energy council is not the end goal and pledged to keep pushing for a separate E15 bill.

“This council is not a substitute for action, and I refuse to let it be utilized as a delaying tactic,” Smith said in a statement. “My colleagues and I on this council will deliver a viable, durable path forward for nationwide, year-round E15.”

The lawmakers’ remarks came amid criticism from biofuel and agricultural groups, who say they are frustrated that E15 language was dropped from the version of the funding bill sent to the Senate.

“Corn growers are disgusted, disappointed and disillusioned that after spending years calling for passage of E15, Congress has again punted, and it has done so in a spectacularly weak and offensive way,” Jed Bower, president of the National Corn Growers Association, said in a statement.

“We already have a bill. We already have an agreement with the petroleum industry after months of negotiation. But instead of acting, Congress is now suggesting a process-ridden task force that kicks the can down the road once again.”