After months of uncertainty, year‑round access to E15, gasoline blended with 15% ethanol, has cleared the U.S. House.
But it still faces an uphill battle to become law.
The House’s Wednesday, May 13, vote to allow year‑round E15 is a significant win for the biofuels industry and Iowa GOP lawmakers, marking a key step toward a long‑sought policy change.
It delivers a political boost to vulnerable farm-state Republicans ahead of competitive midterm elections.
The measure passed the House in a 218-203 vote. But its fate remains uncertain amid strong opposition from lawmakers representing oil and gas states and a Senate divided over worries it will hurt refiners.
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican seeking reelection in southeastern Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, said better leveraging the American-made biofuel would strengthen the nation’s energy independence and support rural communities while farmers are ailing.
“What we are doing today is removing an outdated prohibition and finally providing certainty for farmers, producers, retailers and consumers year-round,” Miller-Meeks said during debate.
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican who represents northeastern Iowa’s 2nd District and is running for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, said E15 would drive new demand for American agricultural products and boost farm income amid a “challenging time” for the agricultural economy.
“After years of uncertainty, it is time for Congress to step up and provide this permanent solution,” Hinson said. “… This is commonsense regulation fixes focused right on the consumer. This is not a mandate. It’s a market.”
House action on E15 had stalled for months
The groups backing E15 believed lawmakers had a deal in January that would give consumers summer access to E15, but it abruptly fell apart.
Lawmakers then formed a task force, co-led by U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, an Iowa Republican running for governor, to reach a compromise. As chair of this panel, he was among lawmakers who pushed to tack on an amendment to the Farm Bill for year-round E15.
But that too broke down as House leadership appeared to shelve a planned vote on the Farm Bill and E15 as part of a bargaining play in other high-profile negotiations.
The breakdown prompted a dustup involving Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn on the chamber floor, in which he shouted at Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who later agreed to bring year-round E15 to the standalone House vote that took place Wednesday.
Cheering the first time E15 has ever come to a floor vote, Nunn said the measure would save Americans money at the pump and support the nation’s farmers.
After the House’s passage, he pledged to “keep fighting” to send the bill to Trump’s desk.
“There were plenty of forces in Washington trying to prevent this vote from ever happening, but we held the line, demanded a vote and delivered results,” Nunn said in a statement. “Every gallon of ethanol we blend is fuel we don’t have to import from foreign adversaries. Every dollar saved at the pump is money back in the pockets of working families. Iowa-grown, homegrown energy won today.”
Feenstra said he was “proud to have led on achieving legislation that ensures Americans can fill up their tanks with lower-cost E15 while providing our farmers with an expanded market for their products.”
“Farmers have been demanding open markets to sell their crops, and by permanently allowing E15 to be sold year-round in every state, we are securing a major victory for our farmers, producers and rural communities, after more than a decade of gridlock in Washington,” Feenstra said.
Miller-Meeks said both parties united to give a win to Iowa farmers and Americans “seeking relief at the pump.” According The Hill, 122 Republicans, 95 Democrats and 1 independent voted for the measure, and 90 Republicans and 113 Democrats voted against.
“Iowa farmers deserve certainty, not more political games and misinformation,” Miller-Meeks said in a statement. “Year-round E15 lowers prices at the pump, strengthens American energy independence, supports rural communities and delivers a major win for Iowa agriculture.”
Hinson said the vote marked “a massive, long-overdue step in the right direction” for Iowa farmers and biofuels producers.
“Homegrown biofuels are a critical tool to lower costs for consumers and boost our rural economy, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to get this bill to President Trump’s desk as soon as possible,” Hinson said in a statement. “Our farmers and producers deserve a heck of a lot better than they’ve been getting, and I’ll continue to break the gridlock in Washington to deliver for Iowa agriculture.”
Supporters of E15 celebrate, predict Senate passage
House passage of the bill drew a jubilant response from advocates for year-round E15 sale, who expressed renewed confidence about getting the bill through the Senate.
“Today’s House passage of year-round E15 is a victory 15 years in the making,” said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
“To the naysayers that claim Senate E15 approval is impossible, I’ll simply note that’s the same thing you said about House passage just days ago,” Shaw said. “Confuse Midwest ‘nice’ with a lack of fortitude at your own peril.”
“If the last decade has taught us anything, it’s that the path toward nationwide E15 is never straight or easy,” he added. “We are so proud of our House delegation for never giving up and finding a path forward. We are counting on our champions in the Senate to follow suit to get this legislation on the President’s desk.”
The Iowa Corn Growers Association joined in the celebration.
“This victory would not have been possible without the steadfast leadership of Representatives Feenstra, Nunn, Miller-Meeks and Hinson. We thank them for their bipartisan efforts in moving E15 one step closer to the finish line,” said Mark Mueller, the Waverly farmer who is president of the association.
“E15 is a real solution to high prices at the pump as a homegrown solution with outdated regulations that has caused a long-fought battle, and we are not finished yet,” Mueller said. “ICGA looks forward to working with the U.S. Senate to make E15 a reality for all Americans.”
National groups likewise urged Senate approval. American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings said the organization “is committed to helping build on this momentum to secure bipartisan support for the legislation in the U.S. Senate,” adding, that E15 would “help American farmers coping with the worst economic conditions in a generation.”
Joshua Shields, senior vice president of corporate affairs for top ethanol producer POET, said, “We hope the Senate will follow the lead of the House in providing relief for drivers suffering from high fuel costs.”
In the upper chamber, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, urged his colleagues to complete the job.
“Now, of course, it’s up to the Senate to take up this very urgent legislation,” Grassley said. “Congress must take action to boost fuel supply and help rural America in the process.
Iowa’s family farmers are counting on the Senate to deliver year-round E15,” Grassley said. “I’m going to keep fighting until we get this bill to the president’s desk.”
Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, thanked Iowa’s all-GOP delegation and said on social media the vote was “great news for Iowa farmers, biofuel producers and consumers.”
Permanent year-round E15 access would generate billions for Iowa producers
While fuel containing 10% ethanol is available year-round, some regions have limited the higher blend during warmer months, when it’s thought to add to smog.
The industry says the science underlying restrictions on summer use of E15 is outdated. But oil refiners have resisted increased biofuel blending mandates, citing higher costs.
E15 is temporarily available year-round across the nation under a waiver provided by the Trump administration.
Farmers have lobbied for unrestricted E15 sales for at least 15 years, with an industry report last year showing the added demand would generate nearly $14 billion in revenue annually for corn growers and $7 billion more for ethanol producers.
The added cash would help U.S. farmers, facing a fourth year of likely losses, with Iowa, the nation’s largest producer of ethanol and the corn used to make it, getting an extra boost. Ethanol plants use about half of Iowa’s annual harvest to make the renewable fuel and produce a high-protein byproduct that’s fed to cattle and other livestock.
White House has backed year-round E15 plan
In separate Iowa visits this year, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance assured farmers that a deal to clinch year-round E15 was inching forward Washington, D.C. — although both stopped short of promising a win.
Trump said congressional leaders were “very close” to a deal on year-round E15 during his January stop in Clive, acknowledging he campaigned on backing the ethanol-blended gas. He promised to “sign it without delay” should it reach his desk.
And while Vance stumped for Nunn in Des Moines on May 5, he touted efforts from Iowa’s all-GOP congressional delegation to push E15 after the House’s Farm Bill came to a vote with the E15 provision omitted, again calling a deal “so close” to passage in Congress.
With its prospects appearing dim in the Senate, Democrats lambasted Iowa Republicans for struggling to get E15 across the finish line — especially needling Feenstra, a frontrunner in a crowded GOP primary field in the governor’s race.
“Try as he might, Randy Feenstra can’t rewrite his record of repeatedly failing to deliver nationwide year-round E15 for Iowa farmers,” Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Terra Hernandez said in a statement. “Feenstra has given farmers the runaround for months with empty promises and broken commitments while a deal was always one step out of reach. Iowa farmers deserve real results, not more of Feenstra’s election-year excuses.”
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at mjpayne@registermedia.com. Follow her on X at @marissajpayne.
Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Republicans cheer long-awaited House passage of year‑round E15
Reporting by Marissa Payne and Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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