Committee Leaders: EPA Decision to Deny RFS Waivers "Short-sighted'

Statement

Today, following an announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it is denying waivers of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Ralph Hall (R-TX), Vice Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), and Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD) released the following joint statement:

"The decision by EPA Administrator Jackson to deny RFS waiver requests from Governors of eleven states, ranging from Texas to Maryland, was short-sighted and alarming. To ignore the severe economic harm of the RFS requirements, particularly when forced on drought-stricken regions of the country, is difficult to accept. The RFS hurts agriculture, jeopardizing the economies of several States and regions.

"Yet again, the Administration turns a blind eye to bipartisan calls for relief and instead drives food prices higher, forces engine-damaging ethanol blends into commerce, and puts the American consumer last."

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