WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, recently criticized the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package introduced by a bipartisan group of ten U.S. Senators for its failure to address biofuels.
“While I commend the White House and Senators for continuing to work toward creating bipartisan infrastructure legislation that can tackle issues ranging from aging bridges and roads to expanding access to high-speed internet, it’s unacceptable to see that this agreement still does not include investments in a bipartisan, homegrown clean energy source: biofuels,” she said on a released statement on Thursday.
“For months, I have been helping members of the administration, the Senate, and my own colleagues in the House understand the key advantages of biofuels – from the fact that it’s been proven to be more than twice as clean as fossil fuels to its support for our rural communities, agricultural economy, and hundreds of thousands of American jobs,” Axne added.
“While I am withholding my final decision on this agreement until there is a bill I can read, I will have strong reservations about supporting the final bill if there is no pathway for critical investments in our biofuels sector,” she concluded.
Axne has made it clear that biofuels investments are a key priority for her in any infrastructure agenda.
In April, Axne urged relevant House committee chairs to include biofuels investments in infrastructure discussions.
In June, Axne made these reservations clear to the leaders of both parties in both chambers of Congress.
Rep. Axne is a Co-Chair of the House Biofuels Caucus, and a lead sponsor of legislation to expand investments in biofuel infrastructure, upgrade the EPA’s authority on E15 sales, update the modeling for biofuel and biodiesel emissions, and extend the biodiesel tax credit.
