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Floor Speech

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Mrs. FISCHER. Madam President, last week the Biden administration announced over half a billion dollars in subsidies for electric vehicle, or EV, charging stations. That half billion follows 2 billion more that has already been handed out to States, despite the fact that only 4 percent of Americans own EVs.

This is a common trend for this administration: forcing untested, expensive solutions onto the American people in the name of climate change.

But according to the Wall Street Journal, only two federally funded EV charging stations have been built since Biden became President, even though billions of taxpayer dollars are subsidizing those projects.

And Americans remain hesitant to drive these expensive cars. Last year, 84 percent of Americans said they are not considering buying one. The EV malfunctions that have happened over the past few days of this winter weather that we have been having across my part of the country only serve to confirm their choices.

The administration's plan for massive adoption of EVs over the next 8 years is a pipedream. But there are realistic, practical reforms we can make that would benefit the environment without limiting freedom or harming our economy. One of them is approving the sale of gasoline blends with 15 percent ethanol, or E15.

My legislation, the Nationwide Consumer and Retailer Choice Act, would cut redtape and remove roadblocks to the sale of E15.

Today, California is the only State that hasn't approved the sale of this partially renewable fuel, an unusual stance for a State that styles itself as a leader in protecting the environment.

Should California join the other 49 States in approving E15, that nationwide approval would benefit our environment, our economy, and our energy independence.

Emissions from ethanol are 46 percent lower than from traditional gasoline. One study found that corn ethanol contributed to a reduction of 500 million tons in emissions between 2005 and 2019.

Studies show that if all the gas in California had been E15 in 2022, there would have been a 450 million-gallon reduction in petroleum consumption. That switch, it would have resulted in greenhouse gas savings of 2.2 billion metric tons, and that is in California alone. These environmental benefits would increase exponentially if E15 were used more across this country.

Not only do higher ethanol blends of gasoline emit less greenhouse gases, but the corn used in its production soaks up massive amounts of additional CO2. This is a doubly positive effect that should please even the most skeptical of our environmental friends.

It has been proven by NASA--by the scientists at NASA with data that they have gathered from their satellites--that during the summer, the Corn Belt in the United States of America has more photosynthetic activity than even the Amazon rainforest.

Family farmers in the Corn Belt are helping our climate by producing cleaner fuel, and they don't have to own an EV to do it.

Unlike EV subsidies, E15 is a sensible way to advance environmental goals that do not weigh down our economy. This fuel does not require taxpayer money. It is cheap enough to be market driven. The average price of E15 during the 2022 summer driving season was 16 cents less per gallon than regular gas. In an age of record inflation, that makes a big difference.

It benefits retailers that can profit off of E15, and it benefits millions of American drivers who can switch to a more affordable fuel. Access to E15 will free retailers and consumers from a dependence on energy that is produced abroad. Instead, we will be relying on producers here at home.

This is the way that we can unleash American energy, prioritize our domestic production, and take advantage of the wonderful natural resources that we have.

California's approval would make E15 a nationwide fuel option, and my bill eliminates Federal regulatory roadblocks to the year-round nationwide sale of E15, a lower cost, lower carbon fuel.

Congress and President Biden must come together to pass legislation that will truly advance an ``all of the above'' approach to energy, one that uses many resources that we produce right here in America.

E15, the approval of that is a win. It is a win for family farmers who produce ethanol; it is a win for consumers at the gas pump; and it is a win for our environment, which makes it a win also for American energy security.

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