STATEMENT: One Month Later, Iowa Republicans Keep Failing Farmers on E-15
DES MOINES – It’s been a month, and Randy Feenstra, Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Zach Nunn have missed not just one, but two critical deadlines on the year-round sale of E-15: today’s deadline for a vote on the bill AND the deadline to reach an agreement on February 15.
Feenstra, the co-chair of the E-15 Council, admitted that today’s deadline to get an E-15 bill on the House floor “is not happening” — blaming weather to shift the focus away from his inability to deliver for farmers. And as Agri-Pulse reports, “a rift among oil refiners over proposed legislation” continues to kneecap any chance of a deal that would help Iowa farmers.
A deal on E-15 is a top priority for Iowa corn growers, who are struggling to break even under the weight of chaotic tariffs and rising input costs. The year-round sale of E-15 is “key to helping U.S. farmers struggling with a downturn that’s stretching into a fourth year” and “would boost demand for corn by about 2.5 billion bushels annually,” but Feenstra, Hinson, Miller-Meeks, and Nunn continue to fumble a deal that prioritizes Iowa growers and family farms.
The delegation’s latest fumble on E-15 comes after they failed to include it in January’s government funding bill and have still failed to deliver a new Farm Bill for over two years that would give Iowa farmers the certainty they need. The Chair of the House Agriculture Committee has made clear E-15 will not be included in the long-delayed Farm Bill, further complicating any chance of passage.
“Randy Feenstra, Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Zach Nunn have proven they’re too weak to deliver on the year-round sale of E-15, and it’s costing Iowa farmers dearly,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart. “Iowa Republicans keep failing us on E-15, and every day that goes by without a deal is a reminder that we’re long overdue for new, independent leadership in Washington that gets results — not more of the same broken promises.”
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