Western South Dakota News

U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) have spearheaded a bipartisan initiative urging President Trump to authorize the year-round sale of E15 fuel throughout the summer of 2025. This move aims to bolster America's energy security and lower fuel prices while supporting American agriculture.

The senators wrote, "To meet our nation’s energy needs and decrease the cost of fuel, we must deploy an all-of-the-above energy strategy, which includes leveraging domestic biofuels." They cited the president's prior actions that allowed for year-round E15 sales since 2019, emphasizing the positive impact on domestic fuel supply, consumer costs, and biofuels.

The senators requested that President Trump use the Clean Air Act to extend the Reid vapor pressure waiver through the 2025 summer. "Utilizing American ethanol year-round is a direct solution to reinforcing our energy supply and reducing consumer costs, and the issuance of a nationwide waiver for the 2025 summer driving season is a clear path toward these shared goals," they added.

Other signatories of the letter include U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.).

The full letter to President Trump urges the extension of waivers due to global energy and security challenges partly caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine. The call aligns with an executive order seeking emergency waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. The move is expected to provide certainty to the agriculture economy by boosting domestic demand for commodities.

The request underscores an industry agreement supporting a permanent legislative solution for year-round E15 sales. It also suggests applying temporary emergency waivers to E15 sales across the nation while noting a need for nationwide uniformity in the gasoline market.

###