What’s next for the RFS?
Source: By Charles Bethea, Politico • Posted: Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Trump supported the Renewable Fuel Standard and corn ethanol when he campaigned in Iowa, but his picks of Scott Pruitt and Rick Perry for the top EPA and DOE jobs, as well as investor Carl Icahn as a regulatory adviser, raised eyebrows among the program’s backers. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad later said the president-elect assured him Pruitt would back ethanol, but oil industry lobbyists have vowed to pursue either a legislative change or total repeal of the program. Observers think there will be hearings on RFS legislation — possibly in both the House and Senate. But the leadership in both chambers won’t be anxious to stir up a fight that will split the caucus, so it’s possible that any legislation that would overhaul the program never gets floortime.