President Trump has scheduled a meeting with Cabinet officials and key Senators to talk over potential 
changes to the nation’s biofuels policy.
The Renewable Fuels Standard is coming under increasing attack after a bankrupt Pennsylvania refinery blamed its troubles on the regulation. The meeting comes as two of the more powerful lobbying groups, the oil and corn/ethanol industries, continue to clash over the future of the RFS.
A Reuters report says Trump’s engagement on the issue may reflect the value of protecting jobs in a key electoral state. The meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday. It will include several officials, such as oil-patch senator Ted Cruz of Texas, as well as corn-state senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa.
One source told Reuters that the meeting will focus on keeping Philadelphia Energy Solutions in business. The company is asking a bankruptcy judge to eliminate nearly $350 million of its current RFS compliance cost, which is owed to the Environmental Protection Agency. Another source says the discussions will consider capping the cost of biofuel credits and allow ethanol blends to be sold year round.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.