ACGF Says U.S. House Blundered Last Week by Deleting Year-Round E15 Ethanol Blends in Gasoline from Their Continuing Resolution (CR). That Action Hurts Consumers by Raising Gas Prices at the pump. It Hurts Farmers by Causing Surplus Corn Supplies and Lower Corn Prices.

WILCOX, NE, Dec. 23, 2024--- The American Corn Growers Foundation (ACGF) issued the following statement: Last week the U.S. House of Representatives deleted a provision in their Continuing Resolution (CR) that would have authorized the year-round, nationwide use of E15 ethanol blends in gasoline. That misguided action by the House will cost motorists at the pump because E15 blends lower gasoline prices. That’s something for consumers to think about, especially during the holiday season and one of the busiest driving times of the year.

Equally concerning is the fact that year-round E15 ethanol blends would create new corn demand estimated at 2.5 billion bushels annually. That new corn demand would raise corn prices and reduce government (USDA) farm program costs. It is likely that the “usual suspects”, industry lobbyists for both the oil industry and the electric vehicle (EV) industry worked to get that E15 provision deleted. That wrong-headed action was a serious mistake as ethanol blends in gasoline also remove pollutants from the air. Congress needs to authorize year-round E15 blends in gasoline as soon as possible. Congress should also facilitate E15 use nationwide by stipulating that gasoline stations will not be required to install new, expensive storage facilities for E15 if they already have ethanol blend storage.