With President-elect Donald Trump figuratively looking over his shoulder, Scott Pruitt assured Farm Belt senators that he will support the Renewable Fuels Standard, which guarantees biofuels a share of the gasoline market, if he is confirmed as EPA administrator. Pruitt is state attorney general in Oklahoma, an oil-producing state, which raised questions about whether he would enforce the biofuels mandate.
“I received assurances from Mr. Pruitt that he intends to do so and I will hold him to that commitment. I was pleased to hear that President-elect Trump made it clear to Mr. Pruitt that he cares about the RFS,” said Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst. The meeting between Pruitt and half a dozen senators was organized by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who said, “We got a very positive response on Mr. Pruitt’s support not just for the RFS but more importantly, for the rule of law.”
Roughly 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is used in making ethanol, the dominant biofuel. Iowa is the No. 1 state in corn and ethanol production. The oil industry wants to weaken or repeal the RFS. Farm groups have chided the EPA for moving slowly to set the corn ethanol target at the 15-billion-gallon-a-year level allowed by law.