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Fuels Association Letter
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2014
Press Contact: T.J. Page
Iowa Leaders Submit
Letter to Vice
President after News Coverage Links Biden to Anti-RFS Proposal
JOHNSTON, IOWA – In response to a Reuters article claiming Vice
President Biden played an instrumental role in the Obama
Administration’s proposal to gut America’s Renewable Fuel Standard
(RFS), the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) today joined dozens
of Iowa agriculture and renewable fuels leaders to submit a letter to
Vice President Biden requesting a meeting and urging him to revisit the
issue.
Reminding Vice President Biden that he “campaigned in Iowa in 2007 and 2008 as a strong champion of the bipartisan, common sense Renewable Fuel Standard,” the authors of the letter urged the vice president, “Please do not be fooled by the crocodile tears coming from the oil industry, who claim to be concerned about rising gasoline prices. Their argument is preposterous on its face.”
In part, the letter read: “This has already become a full-blown campaign issue in Iowa in 2014, and it will be a major issue for every candidate who visits Iowa in 2016. This is a crucial juncture for America’s renewable fuel industry, and we cannot allow the oil industry to dominate the debate or bully our political leaders into backtracking to greater foreign oil dependence.”
The report in Reuters detailed an exchange between Vice President Biden and Philadelphia Congressman Robert Brady, who contacted Biden on behalf of the Carlyle Group, an alternative asset management firm which had previously purchased two oil refineries in Brady’s district that were struggling due to lower profit margins. Biden reportedly told Brady he could fix the issue.
“If accurate, this report would confirm our worst suspicions—that Vice President Biden and the Administration have done an about-face on their support for cleaner fuels, consumer choice and cutting oil dependence,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Iowans and all Americans deserve to know where the Vice President stands on the RFS. Does he really want to walk away from the only federal policy allowing market access for renewable fuels in the face of a century of policy preferences for petroleum? Abandoning the RFS would result in less competition, less consumer fuel choice and higher fuel prices, while strengthening the oil industry’s near monopoly over the transportation fuel sector.”
If true, the move to advocate for oil companies to the detriment of renewable fuels would represent a sharp break from Vice President Biden’s track record of supporting the RFS and decreasing America’s dependence on foreign oil. The alleged exchange would also be a departure from the Administration’s commitment to innovative American renewables and pursuit of energy independence, more American jobs, and a brighter climate future.
In November, 2013, the EPA released a proposed rule that would reduce the renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the RFS. The final rule for 2014 is set to be released in June, and oil companies have been fighting for months to weaken the RFS and block competition from cheaper, cleaner homegrown renewable fuels.
Iowa is the leader in renewable fuels production. Iowa has 12 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce nearly 315 million gallons annually. In addition, Iowa has 42 ethanol refineries capable of producing over 3.8 billion gallons annually, with three cellulosic ethanol facilities currently under construction.
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association was formed in 2002 to represent the state’s liquid renewable fuels industry. The trade group fosters the development and growth of the renewable fuels industry in Iowa through education, promotion, legislation and infrastructure development.
The letter is attached to this email.
May 15, 2014
Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Vice President
United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. Vice President:
You campaigned in Iowa in 2007 and 2008 as a strong champion of the bipartisan, common sense Renewable Fuel Standard – a law that has helped reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil while creating jobs and lowering carbon pollution here at home.
We were stunned to read a report from Reuters this week that you played an instrumental role in the Obama Administration’s decision to “backtrack, at least temporarily, on a policy it has supported for years.” The Administration’s proposal to gut the Renewable Fuel Standard would lower the amount of clean, renewable ethanol in the fuel supply this year, while raising the amount of crude oil that we import.
Please do not be fooled by the crocodile tears coming from the oil industry, who claim to be concerned about rising gasoline prices. Their argument is preposterous on its face:
What is even more distressing is that the Obama-Biden Administration’s proposal to gut the RFS is a devastating blow to the advanced biofuel industry that your administration has strongly championed. Just as the industry is taking root – with four new commercial scale cellulosic ethanol plants coming online this year, including three in Iowa – your Administration has replaced years of regulatory certainty with uncertainty, undermining future private sector investment in additional cellulosic ethanol production.
While the numbers in the Administration’s proposal must be changed, the methodology the Administration uses to reach the numbers in its proposal is perhaps more troubling than the numbers themselves. The EPA proposal lowers targets for ethanol blending not because of a shortage of supply, but because oil companies – who control the retail fueling infrastructure – aren’t willing to allow additional ethanol to be sold. Why would investors risk their money in expanded cellulosic ethanol production when oil companies can prevent their product from reaching market by simply refusing to provide the appropriate retail infrastructure?
Mr. Vice President, if this report is true, your involvement on behalf of the oil companies and big refining industry interests is a profound mistake. This policy reversal by the Administration simply means more foreign oil, more carbon pollution, and fewer American jobs. And it is disappointing that you would take this action after hearing just one side of the story.
This has already become a full-blown campaign issue in Iowa in 2014, and it will be a major issue for every candidate who visits Iowa in 2016. This is a crucial juncture for America’s renewable fuel industry, and we cannot allow the oil industry to dominate the debate or bully our political leaders into backtracking to greater foreign oil dependence.
We respectfully request a meeting with you to discuss this matter as quickly as possible. Please do not allow this ill-considered proposal to go forward without hearing all of the facts. Iowans have always known you to be a strong supporter of homegrown, renewable fuels, and we hope you will ultimately stand with us on this crucial issue.
Sincerely,
Steve Roe
General Manager
Little Sioux Corn Processors, LP
Brian Cahill
President & CEO
Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC
Delayne D. Johnson
Chief Executive Officer
Quad County Corn Processors
Eamonn Byrne
Chief Executive Officer
Plymouth Energy
Duane Peterson
Iowa corn farmer
Harcourt, IA
Kevin Stumpf
Iowa corn farmer
Otho, IA
Jack Kibbie
Former Iowa Senate President
Brad Davis
General Manager
Corn, LP
Pat Boyle
Chairman of the Board
Homeland Energy Solutions
Ray Defenbaugh
President, CEO & Chairman
Big River Resources, LLC
Jeff Altena
Operations Director
Siouxland Energy Cooperative
Al Giese
Board of Directors
Quad County Corn Processors
James Broghammer
Chief Executive Officer
Pine Lake Corn Processors
Scott Zabler
General Manager
Pine Lake Corn Processors
Cory Scamman
General Manager
Green Plains Renewable Energy Shenandoah
Dave Sovereign
Chairman, Board of Directors
Golden Grain Energy
Randy Olson
Iowa corn farmer
Ellsworth, IA
Jeff Stroburg
Chief Executive Officer
West Central Cooperative
Neill McKinstray
President
Ethanol Group, The Andersons, Inc.
Jana Linderman
President
Iowa Farmers Union
Jeff Johannesmeyer
President & General Manager
Western Iowa Energy
Rick Schwarck
Chairman, President, & CEO
Absolute Energy, LLC
Roger Zylstra
President, Iowa Corn Growers Association
Lynnville, IA
And forty-five additional Iowa corn farmers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2014
Press Contact: T.J. Page
Renewable Fuels, Ag Leaders Urge Vice President Biden to Stand Strong in Support of RFS
Iowa Leaders Submit
Letter to Vice
President after News Coverage Links Biden to Anti-RFS Proposal
JOHNSTON, IOWA – In response to a Reuters article claiming Vice
President Biden played an instrumental role in the Obama
Administration’s proposal to gut America’s Renewable Fuel Standard
(RFS), the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) today joined dozens
of Iowa agriculture and renewable fuels leaders to submit a letter to
Vice President Biden requesting a meeting and urging him to revisit the
issue.Reminding Vice President Biden that he “campaigned in Iowa in 2007 and 2008 as a strong champion of the bipartisan, common sense Renewable Fuel Standard,” the authors of the letter urged the vice president, “Please do not be fooled by the crocodile tears coming from the oil industry, who claim to be concerned about rising gasoline prices. Their argument is preposterous on its face.”
In part, the letter read: “This has already become a full-blown campaign issue in Iowa in 2014, and it will be a major issue for every candidate who visits Iowa in 2016. This is a crucial juncture for America’s renewable fuel industry, and we cannot allow the oil industry to dominate the debate or bully our political leaders into backtracking to greater foreign oil dependence.”
The report in Reuters detailed an exchange between Vice President Biden and Philadelphia Congressman Robert Brady, who contacted Biden on behalf of the Carlyle Group, an alternative asset management firm which had previously purchased two oil refineries in Brady’s district that were struggling due to lower profit margins. Biden reportedly told Brady he could fix the issue.
“If accurate, this report would confirm our worst suspicions—that Vice President Biden and the Administration have done an about-face on their support for cleaner fuels, consumer choice and cutting oil dependence,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Iowans and all Americans deserve to know where the Vice President stands on the RFS. Does he really want to walk away from the only federal policy allowing market access for renewable fuels in the face of a century of policy preferences for petroleum? Abandoning the RFS would result in less competition, less consumer fuel choice and higher fuel prices, while strengthening the oil industry’s near monopoly over the transportation fuel sector.”
If true, the move to advocate for oil companies to the detriment of renewable fuels would represent a sharp break from Vice President Biden’s track record of supporting the RFS and decreasing America’s dependence on foreign oil. The alleged exchange would also be a departure from the Administration’s commitment to innovative American renewables and pursuit of energy independence, more American jobs, and a brighter climate future.
In November, 2013, the EPA released a proposed rule that would reduce the renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the RFS. The final rule for 2014 is set to be released in June, and oil companies have been fighting for months to weaken the RFS and block competition from cheaper, cleaner homegrown renewable fuels.
Iowa is the leader in renewable fuels production. Iowa has 12 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce nearly 315 million gallons annually. In addition, Iowa has 42 ethanol refineries capable of producing over 3.8 billion gallons annually, with three cellulosic ethanol facilities currently under construction.
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association was formed in 2002 to represent the state’s liquid renewable fuels industry. The trade group fosters the development and growth of the renewable fuels industry in Iowa through education, promotion, legislation and infrastructure development.
The letter is attached to this email.
###
May 15, 2014
Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Vice President
United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. Vice President:
You campaigned in Iowa in 2007 and 2008 as a strong champion of the bipartisan, common sense Renewable Fuel Standard – a law that has helped reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil while creating jobs and lowering carbon pollution here at home.
We were stunned to read a report from Reuters this week that you played an instrumental role in the Obama Administration’s decision to “backtrack, at least temporarily, on a policy it has supported for years.” The Administration’s proposal to gut the Renewable Fuel Standard would lower the amount of clean, renewable ethanol in the fuel supply this year, while raising the amount of crude oil that we import.
Please do not be fooled by the crocodile tears coming from the oil industry, who claim to be concerned about rising gasoline prices. Their argument is preposterous on its face:
- Ethanol is cheaper than gasoline. By requiring greater use of a fuel that costs less, the RFS lowers the cost of every gallon sold. Requiring less expensive ingredients does not make something more expensive.
- Refiners claim that RINs (Renewable Identification Numbers, which track compliance with the RFS) cost them $1.35 billion in 2013. But what they really mean is that refiners who didn’t blend enough renewable fuel into gasoline paid $1.35 billion to other refiners who blended more than enough. The net effect on the industry is zero – except that they lose market share to a clean, domestic fuel. More American made renewable fuel, less foreign oil. The net effect on consumers is positive, because the fuel that displaced the foreign oil is cheaper. Consumers won, Saudi Arabia lost.
What is even more distressing is that the Obama-Biden Administration’s proposal to gut the RFS is a devastating blow to the advanced biofuel industry that your administration has strongly championed. Just as the industry is taking root – with four new commercial scale cellulosic ethanol plants coming online this year, including three in Iowa – your Administration has replaced years of regulatory certainty with uncertainty, undermining future private sector investment in additional cellulosic ethanol production.
While the numbers in the Administration’s proposal must be changed, the methodology the Administration uses to reach the numbers in its proposal is perhaps more troubling than the numbers themselves. The EPA proposal lowers targets for ethanol blending not because of a shortage of supply, but because oil companies – who control the retail fueling infrastructure – aren’t willing to allow additional ethanol to be sold. Why would investors risk their money in expanded cellulosic ethanol production when oil companies can prevent their product from reaching market by simply refusing to provide the appropriate retail infrastructure?
Mr. Vice President, if this report is true, your involvement on behalf of the oil companies and big refining industry interests is a profound mistake. This policy reversal by the Administration simply means more foreign oil, more carbon pollution, and fewer American jobs. And it is disappointing that you would take this action after hearing just one side of the story.
This has already become a full-blown campaign issue in Iowa in 2014, and it will be a major issue for every candidate who visits Iowa in 2016. This is a crucial juncture for America’s renewable fuel industry, and we cannot allow the oil industry to dominate the debate or bully our political leaders into backtracking to greater foreign oil dependence.
We respectfully request a meeting with you to discuss this matter as quickly as possible. Please do not allow this ill-considered proposal to go forward without hearing all of the facts. Iowans have always known you to be a strong supporter of homegrown, renewable fuels, and we hope you will ultimately stand with us on this crucial issue.
Sincerely,
Steve Roe
General Manager
Little Sioux Corn Processors, LP
Brian Cahill
President & CEO
Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC
Delayne D. Johnson
Chief Executive Officer
Quad County Corn Processors
Eamonn Byrne
Chief Executive Officer
Plymouth Energy
Duane Peterson
Iowa corn farmer
Harcourt, IA
Kevin Stumpf
Iowa corn farmer
Otho, IA
Jack Kibbie
Former Iowa Senate President
Brad Davis
General Manager
Corn, LP
Pat Boyle
Chairman of the Board
Homeland Energy Solutions
Ray Defenbaugh
President, CEO & Chairman
Big River Resources, LLC
Jeff Altena
Operations Director
Siouxland Energy Cooperative
Al Giese
Board of Directors
Quad County Corn Processors
James Broghammer
Chief Executive Officer
Pine Lake Corn Processors
Scott Zabler
General Manager
Pine Lake Corn Processors
Cory Scamman
General Manager
Green Plains Renewable Energy Shenandoah
Dave Sovereign
Chairman, Board of Directors
Golden Grain Energy
Randy Olson
Iowa corn farmer
Ellsworth, IA
Jeff Stroburg
Chief Executive Officer
West Central Cooperative
Neill McKinstray
President
Ethanol Group, The Andersons, Inc.
Jana Linderman
President
Iowa Farmers Union
Jeff Johannesmeyer
President & General Manager
Western Iowa Energy
Rick Schwarck
Chairman, President, & CEO
Absolute Energy, LLC
Roger Zylstra
President, Iowa Corn Growers Association
Lynnville, IA
And forty-five additional Iowa corn farmers
Copyright © 2014 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in
Action.
All rights reserved.