For months, the Trump administration has suggested that it will make good on a pledge to increase the use of ethanol by approving year-round use of E15. Now, a planned campaign rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Oct. 9 has ethanol supporters more hopeful than ever that President Trump will finally deliver.
The news would be welcomed by GOP incumbent David Young, who is in a tight race with Democrat Cindy Axne in Iowa’s 3rd District (including Council Bluffs) and by Iowa’s GOP Governor Kim Reynolds, who is being challenged by Democrat Fred Hubbell.
But ethanol supporters have had their hopes raised several other times this year – without seeing a final decision. In late August, the decision appeared to be imminent.
“The President called me this morning and said ‘Let’s get it done,’” Perdue told reporters at the Farm Progress Show near Boone, Iowa. “He wants to get that done, so hopefully he’ll have an announcement hopefully sooner rather than later.”
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Reaching a conclusion on the debate has proven to be a tricky issue. The administration thought they had a deal earlier this year in a package that would have traded the Reid Vapor Pressure waiver necessary for year-round E15 sales in exchange for allowing exported biofuels to count toward Renewable Fuel Standard compliance. Trump rejected that deal at the behest of Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, leaving the issue unresolved.
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