Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. BOND, and Mr. THUNE):

S. 1148. A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to modify a provision relating to the renewable fuel program; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined today in introducing commonsense legislation with Senators MCCASKILL and BOND. The Renewable Fuel Standard Improvement Act, seeks to improve a number of provisions included in the expanded Renewable Fuels Standard that was enacted in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, EISA.

Just a week ago, the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Representative COLLIN PETERSON, introduced this legislation in the House of Representatives. It now has more than 44 bipartisan cosponsors. Because Chairman PETERSON crafted such thoughtful modifications to the Renewable Fuel Standard, I want to give my Senate colleagues an opportunity to consider the bill. So, today I am introducing companion legislation in the Senate.

A component of the new Renewable Fuels Standard was a requirement that various biofuels meet specified life-cycle greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. The law specified that lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions are to include direct emissions and significant indirect emissions from indirect land use changes. In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released by the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this month, the EPA relies on incomplete science and inaccurate assumptions to penalize U.S. biofuels for so-called ``indirect land use changes.'' So, this bill ensures that the greenhouse gas calculations are based on proven science by removing the requirement to include indirect land use changes.

The bill also includes a number of other commonsense fixes to the expanded Renewable Fuels Standard. Under EISA, the life-cycle greenhouse gas reduction requirements do not apply to corn ethanol plants that were in operation or under construction prior to the date of enactment. This grandfather provision does not apply to biodiesel facilities, however. The legislation I am introducing today would extend the same grandfathered treatment to biodiesel facilities.

Finally, the bill includes a more inclusive definition of renewable biomass, and it expands the role of the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy in administering the program.

This bill goes a long way to rectifying a few provisions that are undermining and harming our efforts toward energy independence. I do not think it makes sense to impose hurdles on our domestic renewable fuels industry, particularly if it prolongs our dependence on dirtier fossil fuels, or increases our dependence on energy from countries like Iran and Venezuela.

I would like to thank the cosponsors for their support. I look forward to Senate consideration of this important legislation.

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