ATR Slams Senate Farm Bill Provision on Renewable Fuel Standard

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is opposing a provision in the Senate Farm Bill that would make the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) permanent and allow year-round sales of E15, a gasoline blend containing up to 15% ethanol.

The RFS program has been criticized for being wasteful and providing massive subsidies to biofuel producers, particularly those producing ethanol from corn. ATR argues that this provision would lead to higher fuel costs for American consumers and increase the ethanol industry's dependency on government support.

In a statement, ATR notes that Congress should repeal the RFS mandate altogether if it wants to permit year-round E15 sales, allowing the fuel to compete in a free market without federal mandates and taxpayer subsidies. As the Congressional Budget Office pointed out in May, higher ethanol blending would reduce fuel economy and increase gasoline consumption, leading to increased revenues from the federal excise tax on gasoline.

Benjamin Zycher, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, has also weighed in on the issue, stating that the claims of E15 saving fuel consumers up to 30 cents per gallon are 'balderdash.' He notes that ethanol has about 33% less energy content than gasoline and that market forces will establish an equilibrium where E15 sells for around 7 cents per gallon less than E10.

ATR is urging Congress to remove Section 12501 from the Agricultural Act of 2026, which would implement this provision.