Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today convened a meeting among several senators from biofuels-producing states and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, President-elect Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Grassley organized the meeting because he wanted to convey the importance of biofuels to job creation, energy security, the environment and meeting the country’s significant energy needs. He has been disappointed by the Obama Administration’s lack of strong support in implementing the congressionally mandated Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Grassley made the following comment after the meeting.
“We got a very positive response on Mr. Pruitt’s support not just for the RFS but more importantly, for the rule of law. The rule of law is that what Congress passed, the EPA is supposed to follow and not undermine it, the way the current administration has done with the RFS. The purpose of the meeting was to convey the contributions that Iowa and other renewable energy-producing states contribute to the economy and otherwise. From the standpoint of what President-elect Trump wants to accomplish, renewable energy supports a high number of jobs, 43,000 jobs in Iowa just with biofuels and another 7,000 jobs in wind energy. We have to import less oil from the Mideast because we have a very vibrant ethanol industry. As far as whether I’ll support the nomination, I tend to wait for nomination hearings before making up my mind. We got a positive comment that the law’s going to be followed, and that’s very, very important.”
