SABR opposes proposed SRE ‘compromise’ in HR 1346

H.R.1346, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, is a proposed “E15 compromise” package expected to be voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives May 13.

The Sustainable Advanced Biofuel Refiners Coalition said while it is pro-biofuels, pro-agriculture and, therefore, pro-E15, these proposed permanent changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard do not provide a net benefit to agriculture or biofuels.

As a result, SABR said the organization cannot support this legislation.

According to a Food & Agricultural Policy Research Institute study released this week, the proposed automatic small-refinery exemptions (SREs) will not negatively impact ethanol volumes but will dramatically decrease biodiesel volumes.

According to the Congressional Budget Office in a cost estimate released May 12, it will drive crop—primarily soybean—prices down to a point that agricultural safety-net programs kick in.

CBO’s report estimates that passage of H.R. 1346 would result in direct federal spending on crop loss programs of $2.7 billion over 10 years.

“SABR is a biofuel advocate, so we support E15, but this current package is not the answer,” said Tom Brooks of Western Dubuque Biodiesel and SABR chair.

“The numbers in both the FAPRI study and the CBO estimate lay out a stark picture for soybean farmers and biodiesel producers,” Brooks added. “Rather than an E15 compromise with a side of SREs, it is more of an SRE compromise with a side of E15. We would like to engage constructively with all stakeholders to find a more measured policy that is not so disproportionately harmful to soybean farmers and biodiesel producers who do not even receive any offsetting benefits from the package.”