A U.S. Senator from Minnesota says bipartisan efforts continue to restore the Renewable Fuel Standard to its original statute.

Al Franken tells Brownfield he and other lawmakers have met frequently with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy following the renewable volume obligation (RVO) proposals for ethanol and biodiesel earlier this year.

“Amy Klobuchar’s office must’ve had about 30 of us, including Senator Grassley and Senator Thune.  And part of the RFS is biodiesel, so Maria Cantwell from Washington cares about that (and) Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island cares about that.”

Franken says he’ll continue to beat the drum for renewable fuels to current and future administrations.

“I think (the EPA) has responded to our wishes, not quite where we want to be (however) especially for ethanol.  But I’ve talked to the president about this and to his chief of staff and we’ll keep pushing for this.”

EPA’s 2017 RVO proposal calls on refiners to blend 14.8 billion gallons of conventional biofuels, while the original RFS statute was for 15 billion.

Brownfield spoke to Franken Tuesday at FarmFest near Redwood Falls in southwest Minnesota.

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