[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 180 (Tuesday, November 12, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6503-S6504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SMALL REFINERY WAIVERS AND ETHANOL

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, on behalf of the corn and soybean 
farmers in my State, I object to ``small refinery relief language'' in 
the fiscal year 2020 Interior appropriations bill that suggests that 
the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, disregard Department of 
Energy determinations on small refinery hardships. The provision 
encourages EPA to continue allowing refiners to stop blending biofuels 
with no transparency or evidence of hardship.
  Fourteen years ago in this Chamber, I helped enact the renewable 
fuels standard, RFS, which required petroleum-based vehicle fuels to 
include a minimum volume of ethanol and biodiesel in them. Both fuels 
are produced from corn and soybeans, driving economic activity 
throughout Illinois and the Midwest.
  The law has been a tremendous success. We have created new markets 
for corn and soybeans and helped supply motorists with affordable fuel. 
We have provided a greener alternative to MTBE and other additives. And 
now the United States is the world's largest producer of ethanol, 
generating commerce and creating jobs, both on and off the farm.
  In fact, I can hardly think of a national policy in this generation 
that has achieved greater success for rural economic growth than 
biofuels. In the wake of the gasoline shortages of the 1970s, the farm 
financial crisis of the 1980s, the clean air discussions of the 1990s, 
the oil price spikes of the 2000s, and rural economic conditions of 
today, biofuels became part of the solution. For more than 40 years, 
farmers and policymakers built an industry unique to the heartland of 
this country.
  Yet in just 2 years, President Trump has wrestled American biofuels 
to its knees. He singlehandedly has delivered one crippling blow after 
another. Each action he has taken contributes to the gradual 
dismantling of this enterprise. With his involvement, or outright 
neglect, ethanol prices, profits, and blending are the lowest in 
history, and thousands of rural jobs have been lost.
  The President claims his support for ethanol and biodiesel is strong. 
I say: believe it when you see it. Because when this President issues 
declarations of victory on biofuels, facilities stay shuttered and the 
markets stay stalled.
  Congressional frustration on this topic is bipartisan and growing, 
although some farm State lawmakers and interests still stare at their 
shoes while a President who shares their political affiliation burns 
this industry to the ground. Long after the alarm bells were ringing 
and klaxons were sounding, those who should have known better at the 
outset, whose earlier responses were accolades, now find themselves at 
path's end, hoodwinked.
  As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I pressed the EPA to 
approve E15, a 15 percent blend of ethanol in gasoline, for year-round 
sales as soon as possible. And I applauded that final decision in June. 
For Illinois, E15 could boost 14 ethanol facilities and 20,000 
downstate jobs. For motorists, E15 could save up to 10 cents per 
gallon.
  But pull back the curtain, and the President has allowed EPA to issue 
85 secret waivers that allow oil refineries to stop blending biofuels 
into gasoline. Economists have confirmed that shatters demand for E15. 
Waivers mean that E15 is a fake victory by President Trump.
  After increasing pressure and outcry, on October 4, President Trump 
publicized an agreement ostensibly designed to restore the lost ethanol 
demand caused by his waivers back to the 15 billion gallon floor--even 
16 billion gallons, claimed the President. Ten days later, the Trump 
administration stunned observers by publishing details that watered 
down these numbers and slashed the ethanol deal by half, while 
stakeholders were coached that nothing has changed.
  The language in the Interior appropriations bill suggests that EPA 
continue to thumb its nose at corn and soybean producers while issuing 
small oil refinery waivers. Meanwhile, Big Oil is doing just fine. In 
May, the Department of Energy reported that net income for top U.S. oil 
companies like Exxon and Chevron has totaled $28 billion, the most 
profitable in five years. For farmers, however, net income has 
plummeted 50 percent from its record highs during the Obama 
administration.
  For years, farmers and policymakers of multiple backgrounds and 
persuasions have come together, in good faith, to carefully build a new 
industry that benefits consumers, farmers, and rural residents. This 
pioneering innovation is rooted in the heritage of rural values, all in 
jeopardy of crumbling because the void between this President's words 
and acts.
  I urge my colleagues to work to support rural America by ending EPA's 
efforts to issue these waivers without any concern for transparency or 
economic impact.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I support the sentiments of my colleague 
from Illinois in objecting to the ``small refinery relief'' language in 
the fiscal year 2020 Interior appropriations bill. In the past, this 
language has been invoked by the Trump administration's

[[Page S6504]]

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, to disregard the Department of 
Energy's recommendations regarding small refinery hardships under the 
renewable fuel standard, RFS, and waive additional gallons of renewable 
fuels from our fuel supply. These actions, permitted by President 
Trump, hurt rural America and our farmers.
  The RFS is an important driver of Michigan jobs and our bio-based 
economy. This Administration's continued abuse of refinery waivers 
undermine the integrity of the RFS program and hurt our farmers, 
biofuel producers, and rural communities in Michigan and across the 
country. I strongly oppose this report language and encourage my 
colleagues to support rural America's interests by calling to end the 
Trump administration's abuse of small refinery exemptions.
  Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I would like to add my support to the 
statement given by my colleague from Illinois. On behalf of the corn 
and soybean farmers in my State and on behalf of the biofuel industry 
in my State, I strongly oppose the ``small refinery relief'' language 
in the fiscal year 2020 Interior appropriations bill. This ``relief 
language'' will allow the EPA to continue to exempt refiners from 
blending biofuels without any evidence of actual hardship.
  Small refinery waivers from the EPA are wreaking havoc on our 
Nation's rural economy. Across the country, ethanol plants and 
biodiesel plants are halting production or being forced to shut down. 
These biofuel plants often are the local cornerstone of the community, 
supporting thousands of rural jobs across the country, and serving as 
important markets for farmers to process millions of bushels of corn, 
soybeans, and other commodities. Farmers are struggling after years of 
low prices, extreme weather and a chaotic trade agenda, and instead of 
providing certainty and relief for our farmers, this administration 
chose to destroy more markets and further harm rural communities.
  The problems caused by small-refinery waiver abuse are seen across 
the upper Midwest, but they hit the agricultural communities in my 
state of Minnesota particularly hard. Two months ago, the Corn Plus 
ethanol plant in Winnebago closed. When I traveled there, I talked to 
farmers and community members and heard directly about how the loss of 
that facility will impact their lives. The Corn Plus plant closed, but 
throughout Minnesota ethanol plants are idling and cutting back, 
impacting workers and hurting local farmers. For example, a recent 
Renewable Fuels Association analysis of the impact of idling at the 
Green Plains plant in Fairmont, MN, found that local corn prices were 
reduced, leading to an $8.4 million loss for local farmers who 
typically sell to the plant.
  Last week, Tim Rudnicki, executive director for the Minnesota Bio-
Fuels Association traveled to Michigan to testify at the EPA public 
hearing on their wholly inadequate Trump administration proposed 
``fix'' to the waiver abuse problems. In Mr. Rudnicki's remarks, he 
said that the current EPA is ``driving renewable biofuels backwards and 
toward the cliff.'' I couldn't agree more. This has to stop, and 
Congress needs to make it stop because it has become clear that the 
current Administration has put big oil ahead of our farmers and our 
rural communities.
  In the wake of the EPA's continued efforts to undercut the integrity 
of the RFS by misusing its waiver authority, I urge my colleagues to 
support this country's rural communities by ending the EPA's abuse of 
the small refinery exemptions.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I join my colleagues today in 
expressing my opposition to the language in the fiscal year 2020 
Interior appropriations bill related to the Environmental Protection 
Agency's ability to issue small refinery waivers under the renewable 
fuel standard without taking into account the Department of Energy's 
recommendations.
  The Trump administration continues to undermine the renewable fuel 
standard by granting small refinery waivers to multi-billion-dollar oil 
companies. Since the beginning of the administration, a total of 85 
waivers have been issued, reducing demand for more than 4 billion 
gallons of renewable fuel. That is why I have repeatedly called on the 
Trump administration to stop issuing any further waivers, immediately 
reallocate the remaining gallons, and make public the information 
regarding any recipients of these exemptions.
  We need more transparency and openness about the Environmental 
Protection Agency's, EPA, use of small refinery waivers--who is 
applying for and receiving them, how are they documenting their 
economic hardship, and how is EPA considering that hardship in the 
context of interagency recommendations. The ``small refinery relief'' 
provision in the appropriations bill will allow EPA to avoid answering 
these questions and continue issuing waivers without providing evidence 
of hardship.
  It is for this reason that I am opposed to the ``small refinery 
relief'' language in the fiscal year 2020 Interior appropriations bill. 
While the administration must cease issuing any further improper 
refinery exemptions, as I have been calling for since these abuses 
began, we can start supporting our farmers and rural communities by 
removing this harmful provision from the Interior appropriations bill 
during conference negotiations. Especially at a time when they are 
facing trade uncertainty, low prices, and difficult weather, our 
farmers deserve better.

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