US Senator John Thune leads call for Biden biofuels meeting

US Senator John Thune, a long-time member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, led several colleagues in requesting a meeting with President Biden to promote biofuels.

Along with his colleagues, Senator Thune has requested to discuss the Renewable Fuel Standard and promote biofuels as a key solution for the US’ energy and climate agenda. In July, Thune led a similar effort to discuss the important issue with the administration, but President Biden did not respond.

The letter reads: “We write to reiterate our July request to meet with you, members of your Cabinet, and our Democratic colleagues to discuss the tremendous opportunity that biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel may contribute to your administration’s energy, environmental and transportation agenda.

“Now, as rising energy prices stoke consumer fears of more resolute, long-term inflation, our request takes on new urgency.

“Like you, we want all Americans to have access to affordable and reliable sources of energy, including transportation and winter heating fuel. This requires an all-the-above energy strategy that equally leverages responsible resource development and innovation.

“American biofuels represent both, and as we outlined in our previous letter, they hold the proven ability to provide consumers broad choices for cleaner and more affordable energy. These contributions would expand with timely action by your administration.”

Senator Thune and his colleagues stressed that they strongly caution against “attacks that misconstrue” the RFS as the source of the nation’s rising energy prices or “seek to exploit” global influences to undermine the US biofuel industry.

“Higher blends of biofuels like E15 provide consumers with a lower-cost, greener option at the fuel pump. As we wrote, ethanol has 46% lower lifecycle emissions than conventional gasoline [petrol], with increasingly efficient agriculture and advancements in fuel technology striving to achieve a 70% reduction by 2030 and a net-zero fuel in the coming decades.”

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Michael Regan, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and Special President Envoy for Climate John Kerry, all co-signed the letter.