The American Petroleum Institute (API) and ethanol stakeholders are joining forces in urging President Donald Trump to help secure U.S. legislation allowing year-round use of higher blends of the corn-based biofuel, along with an overhaul of the federal policy that allows small oil refineries to seek exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard.

The current market is too volatile and threatens the reliability and affordability of U.S. liquid fuel for consumers, the groups, representing ethanol producers, fuel marketers, truck stops, oil refiners and convenience store retailers, told President Donald Trump in a letter sent Thursday. The Dec. 4 letter also was sent to congressional leaders, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and other key Cabinet members. 

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API's decision to join the latest attempt to get legislation that would allow full-year, nationwide sales of gasoline mixed with 15% ethanol, known as E15, follows the oil and gas lobby's recent withdrawal of support for an E15 measure led by Republican Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska. That bill, which came close to passage a year ago, is backed by both GOP and Democratic lawmakers. In October, API said its pullback wasn't based on the merits of the bill, but on its opposition to other recent biofuel policies that it considers burdensome. 

API at the time called on congressional leaders to "adopt a more balanced and up-to-date approach to E15 legislation given recent changes in the fuels landscape."

With little time left this year to find a promising path for the E15 bill, farm-state lawmakers, including Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, are hopeful there will be an opportunity to tack the legislation onto a government funding measure in late January. "We'll certainly be working to get that done and included," he told Agri-Pulse on Thursday. 

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