In a major breakthrough for U.S. agriculture, President Trump has included year-round E15 and billions of dollars in new farm aid in his Iran war supplemental request to Congress. The almost $88 billion war request was signed by Trump’s budget director Russel Vought and sent off to House Speaker Mike Johnson. Senate Ag Chair John Boozman said it includes ten billion dollars in temporary economic aid for both row and specialty crops planted this crop year, over $1 billion for ag storm losses in Florida, and would codify year-round sales of E15 nationwide.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a longtime supporter of year-round E15, argued that year-round sales is a good fit with a national security bill.
Below is Grassley’s tweet praising the news that E15 was included in the supplemental funding package request. Grassley first called for E15 to be packaged with Iran supplemental funding back in March.
The House passed the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act earlier, and the Senate has a companion E15 bill. But the senate bill, unable to pass by itself in the face of oil industry opposition, needed to be attached to something more promising. That legislation turned out to be the Iran war supplemental funding, which may still face political opposition. But the President’s request was hailed by the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, and the American Soybean Association as a big boost for struggling farmers, ethanol producers, and consumers.
