Biofuels producers are hailing the introduction of pandemic relief legislation introduced this week in the Senate by Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar and Iowa’s Chuck Grassley. The Senators have introduced the measure to give equal relief for biofuel producers after earlier assistance had been given to the oil industry. Minnesota Biofuels Association Executive Director Tim Rudnicki says COVID 19 has only added to economic woes facing biofuels producers.
He says there have been several plant shutdowns or cutbacks in Minnesota and the Klobuchar Grassley bill which requires USDA to reimburse biofuel producers for their feedstock purchases in the first quarter of 2020 is a good step in helping the industry.
Rudnicki says since this legislation is a stand alone bill it will take a lot of input from citizens calling for its passage to get it over the finish line.
As the coronavirus pandemic has spread, gasoline use in the United States plummeted to 50 year lows around the country. From March to April of this year, total miles driven dropped by 58 percent.
