RFS takes another beating at House subcommittees meeting

In Washington, the Renewable Fuel Standard took a beating in a joint hearing on Tuesday for two subcommittees of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. The chairman of the Environment Subcommittee, Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) who has been a long time critic of the RFS, said the policy was outdated based on old assumptions of gasoline consumption that he claims makes air quality worse while emitting more GHG than fossil fuels. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight also criticized the policy while some other representatives stood up for the benefits of the policy. Most of the hearing centered on the validity of newer studies looking at the environmental impact of ethanol but the RFA quickly pointed out the weakness in the arguments used to refute the RFS.