The Renewable Fuels Association today thanked a bipartisan group of 28 members of Congress, led by Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Angie Craig (D-MN), who called on President Trump to adopt “timely, robust” renewable volume obligations for 2026 and beyond, and “reject abuse” of EPA’s small refinery exemption authority.
“With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rulemaking for RVOs now under review at the White House, this is a critical moment to engage with the administration and make clear what’s at stake—both for the farm economy and for American energy independence,” RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper said. “We’re grateful to Reps. Hinson, Craig, and their many colleagues for their leadership and strong commitment to advancing this important effort.”
The lawmakers wrote to President Trump: “Even before you took office, the EPA was months behind meeting the statutory deadline to set RVOs, which only exacerbated market instability. Domestic biofuel production facilities have already idled, and further delays in action could result in additional closures, putting Americans out of work and disrupting key markets for farmers.”
The lawmakers called on the Trump administration to take the following actions on the RVOs for 2026 and beyond:
- Set implied conventional biofuel RVOs of at least 15 billion gallons.
- Set the biomass-based diesel RVO at 5.25 billion gallons in 2026 and at increasing levels in future years (with an equivalent increase in total volumes), reflecting the rapid growth of renewable diesel and soybean processing capacity.
- Reject abuse of small refinery exemption (SRE) authority and ensure any legitimate SREs have their volumes accounted for in the RVOs to prevent lost demand in key markets for farmers.
Also signing the letter were Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE), Sharice Davids (D-KS), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Mark Alford (R-MO), Randy Feenstra (R-IA), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), Eric Sorensen (D-IL), Mike Flood (R-NE), Troy Carter (D-LA), Brad Finstad (R-MN), Tracey Mann (R-KS), Derek Schmidt (R-KS), Mike Bost (R-IL), Max Miller (R-OH), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Shontel Brown (D-OH), Darin LaHood (R-IL), Ron Estes (R-KS), Sam Graves (R-MO), Mark Messmer (R-IN), Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) and Zach Nunn (R-IA).
