President Trump will meet oil industry leaders and their congressional allies for a discussion of the biofuels mandate, reported Reuters, based on two sources. The meeting “could set the stage for negotiations to overhaul the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard,” said the wire service; the industry has pressed for years to eliminate the mandate or revise its requirement to blend biofuels into gasoline and diesel fuel.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has said he will block a Senate vote on the nomination of Bill Northey for USDA undersecretary until Trump calls a biofuels meeting. Reuters quoted one source as saying, “The president was briefed and has agreed on a meeting,” possibly during the week of Dec. 11. The report of a potential meeting came a day after the EPA announced the RFS for 2018. A spokesman for Cruz declined to comment, said Reuters. The oil industry says the gasoline supply is saturated with ethanol at current levels and there is no room to blend more biofuels. Some refiners say they have spent millions of dollars buying so-called RINs that give them credit for blending ethanol in order to meet the RFS targets.
The Sioux City Journal said that Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a leading proponent of corn ethanol and biodiesel, was not invited to the White House meeting, according to aides. During an appearance in Nevada, Iowa, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said, “It is imperative, absolutely imperative that we have RIN reform in some way. We have to look at whatever steps that we have available in the toolbox to address RIN abuse and the high RIN cost.”