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House hearing airs opposing views on RFS

Opposing viewpoints on the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) were aired Wednesday during a House Energy subcommittee hearing in Washington.

Chet Thompson, president of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, made it clear where his group stands.

“The time has come for Congress to repeal the RFS and let the biofuels industry stand or fall on its own, like all the other industries in this country,” Thompson said.

Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, criticized efforts to change or repeal the RFS.

“Don’t be bullied by an incumbent industry intent on recapturing lost market share and preventing a more sustainable energy future,” Dinneen said.

During opening comments from subcommittee members, Iowa Representative Dave Loebsack said the RFS has proven that it works.

“It has created jobs. It has supported our agricultural communities. And it has decreased our dependence on foreign oil,” Loebsack said. “The RFS has helped bring competition—something that was intended—and consumer choice, another thing that was intended, to the retail transportation fuel marketplace.”

But another subcommittee member, Representative Peter Welch of Vermont, called the RFS “a well-intended flop”.

“It has not helped the environment—it has hurt it. It has increased food costs in this country and in foreign countries,” Welch said, “and it’s done an immense amount of engine damage to everyday folks who want to use chain saws, boat motors and motorcycles.”

Welch is one of the sponsors of legislation that would cap the maximum volume of ethanol blended into the transportation fuel supply at 9.7 percent of projected gasoline demand.

AUDIO: Excerpt from Bob Dinneen’s testimony