The House Rules Committee has teed up a farm bill for a full vote after contentious debate that's casting doubt on the legislation's prospects for passage.
The panel also approved a rule for a stand-alone vote on the House floor of a bill that would allow year-round U.S. sales of higher ethanol fuel blends known as E15. The measure was originally offered as an amendment to the farm bill.
The House is set to take up both bills as soon as Wednesday morning.
The effort to pass E15 faces a new challenge after the Congressional Budget Office said the measure would add "single-digit" billions of dollars to the U.S. deficit over 10 years.
Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, the committee's top Democrat and an ag committee member, noted that there are no offsets for E15. It's "funny to me, because we get a lot of lectures about adding to the deficit, but this is billions of dollars that won't be paid for that will be added to the farm bill, which is extraordinary," McGovern said.
Growth Energy, the largest ethanol trade group, rejected the notion that E15 would add to costs. Biofuel advocates say expanding use of ethanol would reduce costs at the fuel pump.
“There are no cost implications with passing a year-round fix," Growth Energy Chief Executive Officer Emily Skor said in a statement to Agri-Pulse. "A permanent fix that allows year-round, voluntary sales of higher blends like E15 saves American drivers and taxpayers alike. Unfortunately, opponents have been successful in their efforts to misrepresent where the true costs are."
Supporters of the E15 measure – backed by the American Petroleum Institute, biofuel groups and the corn lobby – must win over lawmakers in oil-heavy states to pass. Independent refiners have rejected the legislation over a provision that would overhaul the biofuel-rule exemption process under the Renewable Fuel Standard.
“Put simply, farmers and consumers can’t wait any longer—year-round E15 would save drivers money at the pump, create markets for farmers, and decrease the cost of the farm program by increasing the value of American crops," Skor said. "We support any approach that finally delivers this simple change and urge the entire House to support year-round E15.”
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The Rules Committee also said it would allow a full House vote on an amendment that would remove a pesticide-labeling provision from the farm bill legislation.
The panel rejected a proposed amendment to strip the farm bill of language that would block animal-welfare state laws, like California’s Prop 12.
The American Meat Producers Association, which pushed for the amendment, called the decision a move against American farmers, consumers and states’ rights.
"The House Rules Committee made a choice to betray American family farmers and ranchers,” AMPA CEO Holly Bice said in a statement. “Congress should be helping the hardworking farmers who feed our country, not harming them. Too much is at stake, the farm bill should be defeated.”
AMPA is funded by a range of producers and meat companies who "care about agricultural policy and its real-world impact," according to the group, which declined to identify specific backers.
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