Opinion: Year-round access to E-15 benefits our families and farmers

Fuel costs are a consistent and fluctuating part of any family budget, and Americans with lower and fixed incomes face the largest burden when prices spike. During the summer of 2022, when drivers had serious sticker shock at the gas pump, the average price of gas eclipsed five dollars nationwide, and states with especially restrictive energy policies, like California and New York, registered average gas prices of $6.40 and $4.90, respectively.

These rapid and, at times, unexpected hikes in gas prices drain wallets and leave Americans with less disposable income to pay bills, contribute to the economy, and provide for their families. Fortunately, in Iowa, we’ve literally grown the solution to lower gas prices for decades – and it is well past time that we turn the key to start the ignition on affordable fuel for our families.

For Americans who have traversed the country by car and traveled across the Midwest, cornfields are everywhere. At first glance, those fields don’t appear to have the potential to lower gas prices, but once harvested, homegrown Iowa corn can be converted into ethanol – a liquid fuel – and blended into our nation’s gasoline supply.

Standard gasoline that Americans purchase every day is also known as E-10. In other words, the gas that we put in our tanks contains 10% ethanol. The benefits of ethanol blended into our gasoline are multifaceted. It burns cleaner, it’s cheaper, it’s easy on car engines, and it’s a major economic boost for America’s farmers. 

An easy way to enhance these benefits and continue to lower gas prices is to up that blend percentage to 15%, which we call E-15. It’s common for communities across the Midwest to sell E-15 at gas stations, but in other states, it’s hard to come by. For years, misguided federal regulations have prevented this cheaper fuel from being sold year-round across the country. It is well past time to fix this issue with legislation giving freedom to our families to buy the fuel they think is best for them.

According to the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol – being a pure compound – can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from anywhere between 40% to 50% as compared to standard petroleum. As it relates to cost, E-15 is also roughly 25 cents cheaper than standard E-10 gasoline, and savings add up on every purchase and over the course of the year. Taken together, both the environmental and economic benefits make the case for another policy proposal that lawmakers and advocates alike have been pushing for more than a decade – access to E-15 at gas stations nationwide 365 days a year.

Per Growth Energy, a biofuels advocacy group, permanently making E-15 available at gas pumps nationwide and all year long would equate to almost $21 billion in fuel savings for consumers and return more than $36 billion in income to American consumers. This improvement to U.S. energy policy would also generate $66.3 billion for our GDP – strengthening our economy and prioritizing affordability for our families.

It’s clear that we can no longer rely on unpredictable and last-minute waivers to ensure that this low-cost fuel can be sold year-round. A simple legislative fix like making E-15 available year-round would eliminate uncertainty for our farmers and ethanol producers and deliver relief at the pump for drivers.

Since I was first elected to Congress, I have worked to make year-round access to E-15 nationwide permanent and advocated for increased production of homegrown Iowa biofuels. It is a cost-free amendment to existing policy that would be a real victory for families, farmers, and rural communities not only in Iowa but also across the country. Representing the largest biofuel-producing district in the U.S. House of Representatives, I will continue to work to advance sensible legislation that supports our farmers, lowers gas prices for our families, and secures American energy independence and dominance.