Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he will only support an agreement on changes in the Renewable Fuels Standard that comes from the industry. Grassley is unsure if President Donald Trump understands how capping renewable identification numbers, or RINs, would be a disaster for the agriculture and ethanol industries. However, he won’t accept a proposal that caps RINs for two years in exchange for a waiver of the Reid Vapor Pressure rule to allow year-round sales of E15.
A potential industry proposal was circulating to multiply the number of RINs and reduce compliance costs. Grassley says he’ll defer to industry, but doesn’t want a change in the RFS if it results in endless and costly court battles.
Grassley was joined by fellow Iowa Senator Joni Ernst and other farm-state colleagues on a letter to the President last week in which they requested another meeting with Trump about the issue.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue stated yesterday that following a meeting he had at the White House with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the President that no solutions had been reached. He suggested that President Trump may seek a solution through Congress rather than administrative actions.
