Monte Shaw:
Leaders in the U.S. Senate say meetings are underway to begin work on an E15 bill.
Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, says he’s as optimistic as he’s ever been.
“They should start work from the House-passed bill. After all, it passed the House,” Shaw said. “We knew the Senate was going to need to put their fingerprints on it. I think they are still trying to figure out how to do it, but the key here is they are figuring out how to do it. There is palpable energy to get E15 done this year.”
Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman, a Republican from Arkansas, recently told Brownfield that a standalone nationwide, year-round E15 bill has enough support to pass the Senate.
But, Shaw tells Brownfield a lot can change when legislation has to clear the Senate’s 60‑vote hurdle.
“This is a small technical fix that no one argues against. The E15 portion of this,” he said. “And so it’s always been kind of frustrating that other things, or just opposition to ethanol in general, would hold it up. It’s really about giving consumers a choice. There’s no requirement.”
Shaw says “it’s embarrassing” that the E15 issue has been debated for more than 13 years.
