Year-Round E15, Refinery Exemptions Targeted in Budget Bill Amendment
Iowa-backed proposal would expand ethanol sales while narrowing small-refinery waivers, setting up a floor fight later this week
An amendment folded into a bipartisan budget bill expected to advance this month would authorize nationwide, year-round sales of E15 gasoline and tighten eligibility for small-refinery exemptions under federal biofuel blending rules, according to bill text.
The measure — added by Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) —I s backed by biofuel producers and corn growers, who argue it would boost ethanol demand and provide regulatory certainty. Refiners counter that narrowing exemptions could raise compliance costs, potentially forcing some facilities to shut and tightening fuel supplies.
The House Rules Committee is set to decide later Wednesday which amendments make it to the floor, putting the ethanol provision on track for a vote as part of the broader budget package.
