WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) released the statement below after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an emergency fuel waiver to allow E15 gasoline, gasoline blended with 15% ethanol, to be sold during the summer driving season.
“With the peak summer driving season approaching, we need to expand the use of E15 gasoline to improve fuel options at the pump and reduce our reliance on foreign oil,” said Klobuchar. “This waiver for summer sales of E15 will do just that, but we must get this done on a permanent basis. I will continue working to establish the year-round use of E15 to bolster our economy, farmers, and national security.”
Klobuchar has long supported legislation to bolster sustainable fuels.
In 2023, Klobuchar and Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), both members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, reintroduced bipartisan legislation to make E15 available year round. The Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2023 would enable the year-round, nationwide sale of ethanol blends higher than 10 percent, helping to lower fuel prices and provide certainty in fuel markets for farmers and consumers.
In February 2024, Klobuchar led a bipartisan group of lawmakers urging the Biden Administration to act quickly to ensure that the model used to determine eligibility for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) tax credits unlocks the potential held by farmers, ethanol producers, and airlines to reduce carbon emissions from aviation.
In January 2024, Klobuchar, along with Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL.) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Farm to Fly Act. This legislation would help accelerate the production and development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through existing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs and allow further growth for alternative fuels to be used in the aviation sector, creating new markets for American farmers.
In June 2023, Klobuchar joined Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in introducing the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Accuracy Act, comprehensive bipartisan legislation to identify the standards required to meet the definition of SAF at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In June 2021, Klobuchar announced the introduction of a new package of bipartisan bills to expand the availability of low-carbon renewable fuels, incentivize the use of higher blends of biofuels, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2021, Klobuchar and Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to create a renewable fuel infrastructure grant program and streamline regulatory requirements to help fuel retailers sell higher blends of ethanol.
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