Feenstra Asks Trump Administration to Allow Nationwide Sale of E-15 This Summer
HULL, IOWA – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) joined a letter – led by U.S. Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Angie Craig (D-MN) – urging the Trump administration to allow for the nationwide sale of E-15 this summer.
In a bipartisan letter to President Donald Trump, Feenstra and his colleagues asked the Trump administration to extend the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver from June 1 through September 15, 2025.
“To safeguard our energy supply, we must preserve the home-grown, affordable option higher ethanol blends provide,” the lawmakers wrote. “The administration’s efforts to unleash American energy independence is a long-term goal but can begin in the short term with preserving flexibility in our domestic energy production and supply through this emergency waiver.”
“Extending the nationwide sale of E15 can again bolster our nation’s energy resilience by adding billions of gallons of ethanol to the nation’s fuel supply, lowering the cost of gas for American families at a time when prices are already too high,” the lawmakers continued. “As affirmed when you first allowed for year-round E15 in 2019, and those approved for the summers afterward, the sale of higher blends of biofuels during the summer months supports the domestic fuel supply, reduces consumer costs, and promotes American biofuels and agriculture feedstocks.”
In February, Feenstra joined a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, urging the EPA to prioritize homegrown Iowa biofuels as part of the Trump administration’s energy dominance strategy.
Feenstra has also worked every Congress to make E-15 permanently available at gas stations year-round and nationwide.
The full letter can be read HERE or below:
Dear President Trump:
We write to once again request your swift action to permit the nationwide sale of fuel blended with up to 15 percent ethanol (E15) during the 2025 summer driving season by extending the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver from June 1 through September 15, 2025.
In 2022, 2023 and 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enabled the year-round sale of E15 by granting temporary waivers under Clean Air Act Section 211(c)(4)(C)(ii), temporarily waiving the 9.0 psi RVP limit for ethanol gasoline blends. This action allowed the U.S. energy supply chain to remain resilient, despite conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, by bolstering the domestic biofuels market, lowering gas prices, and empowering consumer choice.
To safeguard our energy supply, we must preserve the home-grown, affordable option higher ethanol blends provide. Agriculture and energy supply chains are exceptionally responsive to market shocks. Efforts to realign our trade balances, particularly with key energy partners, can create uncertainty in the short term. This is only exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine, which continues to impact the global energy availability and reshape supply lines. The administration’s efforts to unleash American energy independence is a long-term goal but can begin in the short term with preserving flexibility in our domestic energy production and supply through this emergency waiver. This action would be firmly in line with the section of your executive order “Declaring a National Energy Emergency” which implores Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Zeldin and Department of Energy Secretary Wright to consider issuing these emergency waivers.
Currently, the eight Midwestern governors’ petitions to sell E15 year-round has allowed for an agreement between both ethanol and petroleum stakeholders in support of a permanent legislative solution to allow nationwide, year-round E15 sales. In the interim, taking action to permit the sale of E15 nationwide during the 2025 summer driving season also will be beneficial for consumers, the domestic energy industry, and agricultural producers. To ensure nationwide uniformity in the gasoline market, we urge you to apply the temporary emergency waivers to E15 in all states and engage directly with the eight states who petitioned EPA to opt out of the RVP waiver program to ensure their recent requests are adhered to.
Extending the nationwide sale of E15 can again bolster our nation’s energy resilience by adding billions of gallons of ethanol to the nation’s fuel supply, lowering the cost of gas for American families at a time when prices are already too high. As affirmed when you first allowed for year-round E15 in 2019, and those approved for the summers afterward, the sale of higher blends of biofuels during the summer months supports the domestic fuel supply, reduces consumer costs, and promotes American biofuels and agriculture feedstocks.
The issuance of a nationwide waiver for the 2025 summer driving season is a straightforward solution to challenges throughout our energy supply chain and is firmly in the public interest. Thank you for your prompt consideration of this request.
###