Fischer in Grand Island Independent: Delivering E15 for Nebraska’s Producers

In case you missed it: U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, penned an opinion piece in the Grand Island Independent highlighting her successful effort to secure permanent year-round E15 in the Senate’s version of this year’s Farm Bill. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the Farm Bill in September, and the legislation now awaits consideration by the full Senate. Read the piece here or below. Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers are no strangers to adversity. Unpredictable weather, high input costs, and low yields have made it increasingly difficult to make a living in agriculture. The last thing our producers need is more uncertainty in the market. Year-round E15 is one way we can help ease that burden, and I have been working for over a decade now to make it a reality. This year marked a significant step forward in that effort, as I secured its inclusion in the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill. In my years of traveling the state and meeting with farmers across the Good Life, year-round E15 has always been a top priority. I introduced my Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act after listening to the input of Nebraska’s producers. Making E15 permanently available all year is one of the most direct ways we can provide relief by strengthening domestic demand for corn and ethanol. It is a win for our farmers, our economy, and Americans at the gas pump. Yet our producers and gas station retailers have relied on annual emergency presidential waivers to sell it each summer. Temporary waivers do not provide the long-term predictability that corn growers, ethanol producers, and fuel retailers need to make investments, scale production, and plan for future demand. They deserve a stable market for 12 months out of the year. We are inching closer to giving Nebraska’s crop producers the certainty they need. This summer, I was encouraged to see the U.S. House of Representatives finally approve the sale of year-round E15. I commend my fellow Nebraskans, Reps. Adrian Smith, Mike Flood and Don Bacon, for their hard work and persistence in getting the bill passed. Now, it is time to turn years of bipartisan effort into results. After advancing this legislation out of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I took to the Senate floor and called for a full vote on the Farm Bill. I have been working closely with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman to get it done. I will keep pushing to send permanent year-round E15 to the president’s desk. To be clear, year-round E15 is not a government mandate. It simply gives retailers the choice to sell E15 at their gas station and consumers the choice to fill up with it at the pump. Agriculture is the economic engine of our state, and we owe it to our ag producers to enact policies that promote stability and markets to sell their products. As always, I am honored to serve as your senior U.S. senator and bring Nebraska’s voice to Washington. ###