[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 203 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RENEWABLE FUEL FOR OCEAN-GOING VESSELS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 11, 2023

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to co-sponsor the 
``Renewable Fuel for Ocean-Going Vessels Act'' (H.R. 6681), with 
Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA01), Nikki Budzinski (D-
IL13), and Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL28). This bipartisan bill would make 
maritime biofuel fully eligible under the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency's (USEPA) Renewable Fuel Standard, which currently only applies 
to biofuels for motor vehicles, airplanes, locomotives and, in limited 
circumstances, recreational boating or vessels on inland waterways.
  Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58), Congress 
authorized the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which works to 
simultaneously reduce transportation-related emissions from fossil 
fuels and support domestic agriculture, forestry, and biofuels 
manufacturing. However, current law excludes otherwise eligible 
biofuels for ocean-going vessels. No rationale was ever provided for 
this exclusion in the Congressional hearing record or Committee reports 
for the 2005 and 2007 Energy Bills.
  This arbitrary, counterproductive exclusion denies the burgeoning 
advanced biofuels and renewable natural gas industries in the United 
States important maritime customers. Our bipartisan bill would fix this 
problem by simply striking the exclusion, allowing domestic biofuels 
producers to obtain an RFS credit for selling to customers in the Jones 
Act and global maritime industries. The United States Navy has even 
sought to use renewable maritime fuels but has so far been stymied as 
domestic blenders simply do not make renewable maritime fuel because of 
this unnecessary exclusion.
  To be clear, although modern engines for large vessels are 
increasingly capable of burning advanced biofuels instead of heavy 
bunker fossil fuels, our bipartisan bill would not require the use of 
renewable fuel in all ocean-going vessels. Instead, our bill would 
merely expand the potential market for biofuels and remove a statutory 
disincentive for developing renewable maritime fuels.
  According to the USEPA's Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions 
and Sinks from 1990 to 2021, the transportation sector accounted for 
approximately 29 percent of greenhouse gas emissions nationally, the 
largest of any economic sector. Tackling the climate crisis requires 
every industry to transition to cleaner, renewable fuels including the 
international ocean shipping and cruise industries. In July 2023, the 
United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted new 
global standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from commercial 
cargo vessels and cruise ships. Our bipartisan ``Renewable Fuel for 
Ocean-Going Vessels Act'' (H.R. 6681) would support the global maritime 
industry's transition to alternative fuels like advanced biofuels and 
renewable natural gas from methane capture.
  Mr. Speaker, the federal Renewable Fuel Standard's exclusion of fuel 
for ocean-going vessels, without any stated rationale, has created 
unnecessary regulatory complexity, hindered the advanced biofuel and 
renewable natural gas industries, and undermined the global effort to 
reduce maritime emissions. I encourage all Members of Congress to join 
me in removing this outdated restriction by cosponsoring our bipartisan 
the ``Renewable Fuel for Ocean-Going Vessels Act'' (H.R. 6681).

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