Resolution
of differences over U.S. biofuel policy will have to be handled by the U.S. oil
and biofuels industry as talks at the lawmaker level have been unsuccessful,
according to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. After a White House meeting last
month with senators representing the oil-refining industry, President Donald
Trump called on those lawmakers to work with those backing biofuels to come up
with a "win-win" solution to the differing views. Grassley told
reporters Tuesday that the effort between the two sides had basically broken
down. He and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, met with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the lawmaker
leading the change from the oil-refining industry side, and advised him that
his proposal to cap prices for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) at 10
cents each was a non-starter.
"The
industry tells us that such a cap on RINs would be just catastrophic to
ethanol, and I can't go beyond that," Grassley said. "There's a
pretty unanimous feeling among ethanol industry that that would be just a
no-go. Sen. Ernst and I expressed that to Cruz." Caught in the middle of
the situation is the nomination of Bill Northey of Iowa to be a key USDA
undersecretary. Cruz placed a hold on his nomination and so far has not
indicated that he will lift the block. Grassley indicated the hold on Northey's
nomination would need to be addressed in some other way, but he did not say
how.