[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H243-H244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 BIOFUELS SHOULD BE A NATIONAL PRIORITY

  (Mrs. BUSTOS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mrs. BUSTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak out against the 
Environmental Protection Agency's recent proposal to lower the number 
of biofuels in our gasoline. Every year, the EPA is required to provide 
guidelines to oil refineries on the number of biofuels to blend into 
the fuel we pump into our vehicles. While the EPA has the authority to 
reduce the number of biofuels, it never has before.
  Lowering the number of biofuels simply defies common sense. This 
isn't just a proposal that will hurt Illinois' rural farmers or our 
communities in the rural areas, but the economy at large in my home 
State. It also builds a brick wall in the middle of our Nation's path 
toward energy independence. It threatens to drive up prices at the 
gasoline pump, and it risks jobs in an industry that really offers real 
promise.
  The administration's proposal doesn't even maintain the status quo--
it moves us backward--and I see that as unacceptable. I am proud to 
lead a

[[Page H244]]

bipartisan effort with Congresswoman Kristi Noem in urging the EPA to 
revise its proposal because if energy independence is a national 
priority, then so, too, should be biofuels.

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