Yesterday, we heard from Iowa 1st District Congresswoman Ashley Hinson about the PRECISE Act being a part of a few bills that have implications for the Ag industry, that have moved out of the House. This, of course, was not the only bill that the Ag sector is celebrating. For a long time, the Iowa Delegation in Congress has been working to get the loophole closed that stops E15 from being sold year-round. In 2019, the Trump EPA allowed for year-round sales, but Big Oil got it overturned in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
We have talked with the whole delegation in the past about what needed to be done. All of them agreed that the only permanent fix would have to come from the halls of Congress, and that would be no easy task considering that big oil greases a lot of wheels in that political machine.
Congresswoman Hinson also talked about a measure that has finally left the House of Representatives that will allow for this loophole to be closed.
Hinson reminds consumers that this is not a mandate that you MUST use ethanol. This is just an action to allow a choice at the pump year-round. If anybody is trying to mandate your fuel consumption, it is Big Oil. They are the ones that are using every tool in their toolbox to make sure you aren?t allowed to have a choice. The only choice they want you to have is unblended fuel. Fuel that you must purchase at a higher price to ethanol blends. Hinson says that nobody is trying to force you into using anything.
Again, the metaphor I use to describe this situation in the marketplace was taken from my son when he was about 6, and he was listening to me discussing this very topic. He asked some very astute questions for a child, and came to the following conclusion:
?So, that?s like Cheerios saying that I can?t have Lucky Charms for three months. Then the grocery store takes them off the shelf because Cheerios said so??
Yes, it is almost exactly like that.
In fact, when I told former Renewable Fuels Assoc. President & CEO Bob Dineen that line, he wanted to offer my son a job, because he got it better than most adults in D.C.
