After weeks of negotiations, the Renewable Fuels Association says it appears that the House funding bill expected to advance Thursday (Jan. 21, 2026) will exclude language that would have allowed nationwide, year-round access to E15, a lower-cost gasoline blend containing 15 percent American-made ethanol. In place of the year-round E15 provision, Congress appears poised to create a new “Rural Domestic Energy Council” that would develop potential legislative proposals on E15 and other renewable fuels issues that could be considered for future adoption.
RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper offered the following comments in response to these developments:
“We are extremely disappointed that Congress appears to have failed again in adopting a simple technical fix that would have made lower-cost, American-made E15 available to consumers nationwide all year long. Allowing year-round E15 would have provided a lifeline to farmers who are facing the worst economic crisis in almost 50 years, while also helping American families struggling with higher energy bills.
“We already have a compromise deal that is broadly supported by ethanol producers, farmers, large oil refiners, several small oil refiners, fuel retailers, and many other stakeholders, but lawmakers appear to be letting it slip away. The current appropriations process was undoubtedly Congress’ best opportunity to open a critical new market for hard-hit farmers and deliver lower gas prices to American families. It is unfathomable to us that just a handful of mid-sized oil refiners, including foreign-owned companies, were apparently able to blow the whole thing up.
“Kicking the can down the road and creating a new council to study future legislative options just exacerbates the uncertainty and apprehension already being felt across rural America. Starting from scratch makes absolutely no sense. Farmers need real solutions right now, not more foot-dragging and more debate. The agriculture sector is facing a historic economic crisis, and the only way out is to immediately open new markets for American crops.
“While this is not the outcome we were pushing for, we are grateful to the many House members and Senators who fought to advance the year-round E15 bill this week. We will continue to join them in pushing harder than ever to secure this badly needed legislation for rural America as soon as possible.”
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