WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on Interior and the Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits, and Administrative Rules held an oversight hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In response, Tom Buis, co-chair of Growth Energy, issued the following statement:
“Holding a hearing on the RFS without any biofuels stakeholders is unacceptable and defeats the very purpose of what this congressional committee is tasked to accomplish. Inviting only vocal critics of the RFS and not a single producer or stakeholder in the ethanol industry to testify fails to provide this committee with an objective analysis of the issue. The lack of diversity of opinions on this panel exemplifies political theater designed to drive a false narrative and discredit the success of the RFS. Furthermore, one of the most vocal RFS critics on the witness list was a professor who has been funded by the American Petroleum Institute (API).
“This is just more of the same old misinformation – a hearing that ignored hard data on the success of the RFS and that was packed with biofuel critics who relied on inaccurate information and misleading, manipulated data. Make no mistake, today’s hearing was nothing more than a coordinated attack against biofuels. Minus a few open-minded individuals who examined this issue based on facts, not pre-determined bias, this hearing did nothing to reflect the overwhelming contributions of the RFS.
“Homegrown ethanol and the RFS are major wins for the American people. Biofuels, such as ethanol, are a 21st century fuel for 21st century vehicles. They are our only alternative to oil, and the RFS is the most effective policy in reducing harmful toxic emissions that come from the oil industry’s stranglehold on our motor fuel supply. The RFS enhances consumer choice, supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across America, strengthens our energy security and slashes climate change causing emissions.
“Repealing or changing the RFS would turn back the clock and undermine the progress we’ve made toward increasing America’s energy independence and cleaning our air and environment.”
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