Winona Daily News

By Kylie Mullen

U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Amy Klobuchar  and, Tina Smith (both D-MN) are among a group urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to include support for homegrown renewable fuels in the upcoming reconciliation package.

“Providing additional market access for higher blends of low carbon fuels in the budget reconciliation process will create jobs in rural communities, lower the price of fuel for consumers at the pump, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and, most importantly, decrease carbon emissions,” the legislators wrote. 

They continued later in the letter: “We know that the climate crisis is happening right now and we need to confront it with a sense of urgency. Our goal is to decarbonize our transportation sector through an all-hands-on-deck approach that includes investment and incentives for both electric vehicles (EVs) and homegrown renewable fuels.”

The legislators specifically asked Schumer and Pelosi to consider including the Biofuel Infrastructure and Agricultural Product Market Expansion Act, Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, Low Carbon Biofuel Credit Act, Clean Fuels Vehicle Act, Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Act, and enacting a long-term extension of the Second Generation Biofuel Producer Tax Credit in the budget legislation.

Other legislators signing the letter are Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin (both D-IL) and Reps. Cindy Axne (D-IA), Angie Craig (D-MN), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), and Mark Pocan (D-WI).

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