Bipartisan Davis bills bolster biofuels market in America

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), a co-chair of the House Biofuels Caucus, recently proposed two bipartisan bills that would ramp up access to biofuels in the United States.

The congressman on March 8 signed on as the lead original cosponsor of the Adopt Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) Act, H.R. 1637, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update its greenhouse gas modeling for ethanol and biodiesel. Among the members who joined as cosponsors of H.R. 1637 are U.S. Reps. Tom Emmer (R-MN), Don Bacon (R-NE), and Cindy Axne (D-IA).

“Rep. Johnson’s Adopt GREET Act will ensure federal regulators at the EPA take into account how biofuels lower greenhouse gas emissions,” Rep. Davis said. “Our bipartisan legislation will provide much-needed support to the biofuels industry.”

H.R. 1637 would require the EPA to update its greenhouse gas modeling for ethanol and biodiesel by requiring the EPA to adopt the Argonne National Lab’s GREET Model for both fuels, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Davis’ office. The EPA then would be required to update its modeling every five years or report to Congress on why it did or did not make updates to its modeling.

Reps. Davis and Axne on March 3 also led the introduction of the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Investment and Market Expansion Act of 2021, H.R. 1542, which would expand access to higher blends of biofuels. 

“This bill builds off the highly successful USDA Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program, which I have been proud to support due to its positive impact in expanding biofuel infrastructure for consumers in Illinois,” said Rep. Davis on Monday.

If enacted, H.R. 1542 would authorize $500 million over five years for infrastructure grants for fuel retailers and direct the EPA administrator to finalize a proposed rule to repeal E15 labeling requirements that may confuse and deter drivers from using E15, which is a gasoline blend that contains 15 percent ethanol.

The bill also would direct the EPA administrator to finalize provisions from the same proposed rule to allow certain existing Underground Storage Tanks to store higher blends of ethanol, according to Rep. Davis’ bill summary.

Both bills are supported by the National Corn Growers Association, the Renewable Fuels Association, and the American Coalition for Ethanol, among others.