United States Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue went before the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on Tuesday, to report on the state of rural America. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst had some questions for him.
The Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) has been a hot button issue in agriculture for some time. Senator Ernst thanked Secretary Perdue for his help in working with the Trump Administration to preserve the biofuels statute.
Senator Ernst voiced concern with the Environmental Protection Agency?s (EPA) granting of small refiner hardship waivers to refineries which are not small or facing hardship. She asked Secretary Perdue what he could do to help.
Secretary Perdue answered that while he has no legal authority to do anything about it, he does have the power of persuasion. Perdue said he has shown President Trump how EPA Administrator Pruitt is using waivers to circumvent the Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) which Administrator Pruitt did not support last fall.
