WASHINGTON, March 31 – Congressmen Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.; Jim Costa, D-Calif.; Steve Womack, R-Ark,  and Peter Welch, D-Vt., sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy on Friday requesting additional information on the challenges of implementing the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) ethanol mandate. The letter is a follow-up to a recent meeting between the lawmakers and McCarthy.

In October, the congressmen sent a letter signed by 169 bipartisan House members to the EPA asking the agency to lower the ethanol mandate for 2014. They also joined together to introduce H.R. 1462, the RFS Reform Act, which eliminates corn-based ethanol requirements, caps the amount of ethanol that can be blended into conventional gasoline at 10 percent and requires the EPA to set cellulosic biofuels levels at production levels. This legislation has drawn the support of 59 bipartisan cosponsors and more than 50 outside organizations.  

In the letter, the congressmen said:

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“As efforts to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard continue, we are interested to learn more about challenges faced by the EPA in implementing this law. We hope that the answers provided by the EPA will help us to ensure that any legislative fix effectively addresses these challenges. Congress created this artificial ethanol market that is distorting the food and feed market, and Congress must provide relief from its unintended consequences.”  

See the letter to Administrator McCarthy here.

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