A coalition of 24 organizations including Americans for Prosperity (AFP) issued a letter to President Trump urging him to revise the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for the remainder of 2020 to help address the effects COVID-19 has had on fuel demand and the economy as a whole. The letter urges the Administration to revisit the recently established 2020 RFS volumes and direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to build upon recent waivers by the agency to ensure the availability of affordable gasoline by waiving these biofuel requirements for this year. The current economic and health crises would make RFS compliance an additional burden to the American economy and slow the recovery once America is open for business.
In the letter, the coalition partners write:
“The pandemic has underscored the need for permanent regulatory reform in a variety of areas, and we agree that work to expand prosperity on behalf of the American people must continue. One area that warrants immediate attention is the Renewable Fuel Standard… COVID-19 and the government’s response to it demonstrates the fundamental problem with the RFS, as this mandate exceeds the amount of biofuels that consumers want or need and will result in unnecessary economic harm… We stand ready to work together in your regulatory reform efforts as we seek to keep removing barriers to opportunities for millions of Americans, especially the least fortunate in our society.”
Background:
Section 211(o)(7) of the Clean Air Act allows the EPA Administrator to waive RFS volumes if he determines that there is inadequate domestic supply or that implementation of the RFS would severely harm the economy or environment of a state, a region, or the United States.
