Back in April, President Biden came to Menlo, Iowa, and told us that the EPA was using an emergency waiver to allow E15 sales to happen this summer. It was a celebrated win for the industry. Politicians on both sides of the aisle joined with the ag and biofuels industry to support this decision. Here is a reminder of how that was received in Iowa.
Well, what if I told you that President Biden was not happy with his staff and actually reprimanded them for making him come out to Iowa and show support for something he said would never work? Don?t take my word for it, here is the Washington Post article that was published yesterday ironing out all the details.
According to the article:
?Biden had worried even before the announcement that it exaggerated ethanol?s ability to cut gas prices and could harm his climate goals, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and other officials urged Biden to go, arguing that it would at least help the Midwest ? and the White House, after all, was desperate for ways to lower gas prices.?
This morning, I talked with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst about this article, and you can believe that she definitely had some opinions on what she read. She said it was shameful to hear that this is all the regard the President seems to have for the hard work the farmers are doing. It goes completely against what he promised farmers on the campaign trail.
Senator Ernst has worked across party lines and across both chambers for agriculture and biofuels on many occasions. I asked her if she had heard any response from some of her Democratic counterparts about this story, and Ernst replied that so far, they have been very quiet. However, she says don?t expect those ag & biofuels supporters across the aisle to invite the President for any campaign stops in rural America any time soon.
