Texas Sen. Ted Cruz “just keeps moving the goalpost and moving the goalpost,” said Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst after an inconclusive meeting between Senate and White House staff workers on the Renewable Fuel Standard, reported DTN/Progressive Farmer. Ernst told the Omaha news agency that the Senate was unlikely to vote until next year on USDA nominee Bill Northey, who has become a bargaining chip in the argument between oil states and biofuel states.
Cruz said during a televised interview last week that he wanted to find a “win-win solution” for refinery workers and Midwestern farmers on the credits, called RINs, that refiners must buy when they do not blend enough ethanol or biodiesel into the fuel supply to meet the RFS target. When the staffers met at the White House, aides for Cruz and Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey “did not have any proposals to offer and were not ready to negotiate,” said DTN.
“The next step is for Sen. Cruz to circulate specific proposals for consideration,” said a statement from Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office. “The integrity of the RFS is Sen. Grassley’s priority, and there was an understanding expressed broadly in the meeting that any outcome can’t undermine the integrity of the RFS.” The ethanol trade group Growth Energy said one way for refiners to meet the RFS goals would be for the EPA to allow year-round sales of a 15 percent blend of ethanol.