Governors Ask President Trump to Take Steps to Support the Nation’s Biofuels Industry

In Iowa, the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition sent a letter to President Trump asking him to support several initiatives to expand the states’ biofuel production and to help the states “harvest its economic and environmental benefits.” The governors also wrote to President Trump shortly after he was elected.

“We write on behalf of governors from states across the nation who believe that two of America’s great treasures are agriculture and renewable fuels,” the governors wrote. The letter is signed by Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, and South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard.

“Our states are the home to over 200 biorefineries that are producing tens of thousands of jobs, sequestering tons of carbon, saving millions of barrels of foreign oil, and making enormous financial contributions to our states’ and the nation’s economies. We agree that one of the best ways to meet the nation’s energy needs is to expand renewable energy production and to continue to harvest its economic and environmental benefits.”

The governors called on the President to direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take the following actions:

• Remove barriers to the use of higher ethanol blends
• Enforce the Renewable Fuel Standard as approved by Congress
• Update biofuels’ lifecycle carbon findings that are a decade old and do not accurately reflect biofuels’ environmental benefits
• Correct the motor vehicle emission model’s (MOVES) mistaken conclusions about ethanol’s contribution to air pollution.