Budzinski and Bipartisan Lawmakers Demand Permanent Year-Round E15 

Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), joined by Congressman Adrian Smith (NE-03), Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11), and Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach (MN-07), gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to urge their colleagues to support legislation allowing the year-round sale of fuel blended with 15% ethanol, commonly known as E15.

A vote is scheduled for Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives on H.R. 1346, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, a bill co-led by Rep. Budzinski which would eliminate an outdated regulation restricting year-round sales of E15. If passed and signed into law, the measure would expand consumer fuel choices, strengthen domestic energy production, and provide greater certainty for fuel retailers and agricultural producers.

Rep. Budzinski is a leader among House Democrats in fighting for passage. In March 2024, Budzinski and Reps. Adrian Smith (NE-03), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), and Mark Pocan (WI-02) sent a letter to House Leadership requesting a legislative solution to allow the voluntary sale of E15 year-round nationwide. In December 2024, a provision codifying the year-round nationwide sale of E15 was included in the year-end Continuing Resolution, but was then stripped out at the behest of Elon Musk. 

Budzinski remained engaged in discussions in 2025, which culminated in a bipartisan agreement to be included in the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations package. Ultimately, House Republican leadership decided to drop the policy from the funding bill and instead establish a Rural Energy Dominance Council, promising a vote no later than February 25. Budzinski led five of her Democratic colleagues in a letter to Speaker Johnson requesting that they be named to the Council as key bipartisan champions of the policy, but the Speaker declined and opted to move forward with a partisan task force. She also testified at an emergency hearing at the House Rules Committee, imploring leaders to bring the negotiated agreement up for a vote before the full House immediately.

In April, during the House’s consideration of the 2026 Farm Bill, Budzinski was a co-lead on an amendment to include the negotiated language into the Farm Bill. Speaker Johnson then separated the E15 effort from the Farm Bill, promising a full House vote on each policy. The Farm Bill passed, but he never called the E15 effort up for a vote.

To watch the full press conference with the members’ remarks, click HERE. Congresswoman Budzinski’s remarks as prepared for delivery are available below: 

Good morning, everyone, and thank you all for being here today. First, I want to thank my Republican colleagues, Representatives Smith and Fischbach, for their leadership and partnership on this issue. 

As well as my Democratic colleagues who can’t be here today, including Representatives Sharice Davids, Kristen McDonald Rivet, Eric Sorensen, Greg Landsman, and Ranking Member Angie Craig. 

Thank you to the National Corn Growers Association for bringing all of us together around a cause that should unite every one of us – regardless of party or geography.

Because this is bigger than politics. This is about American farmers. It’s about American consumers. It’s about American energy.

And it’s about whether Congress is finally ready to provide the certainty our rural communities have been asking for – for far too long.

When I first came to Congress in 2023, I made a promise to the people I represent – especially farmers – that I would always look for opportunities to work across the aisle and find common ground.

I’ve worked hard to keep that promise. And nowhere has bipartisan cooperation made more sense than on E15.

E15 is one of those rare issues where everybody wins. 

American farmers win because it creates strong and stable markets for homegrown corn. American consumers win because E15 helps lower prices at the pump. Our economy wins because E15 supports jobs and investment in rural America.

That’s why this issue is deeply personal to me. I represent one of the leading corn-producing regions in the United States. I’ve sat down with family farmers, ethanol producers, and small business owners across Central and Southern Illinois who all understand the same thing:

Year-round E15 works. It works for producers and it works for consumers.

Yet despite years of support, years of advocacy, and years of evidence proving its benefits, we are still relying on temporary waivers and short-term fixes to keep E15 available during the summer months.

Those waivers may get us through another season, but they do not provide certainty. Farmers cannot plan their future around temporary decisions. 

Producers cannot invest with confidence when policy changes year to year. And consumers should not lose access to a cheaper fuel option simply because Washington refuses to finish the job.

We’ve been close before. In fact, it feels like every year we get right to the goal line – and every year politics, delay, or dysfunction gets in the way.

Well, today we are here to say: enough. Enough excuses. Enough kicking the can down the road. 

The time for permanent, nationwide, year-round E15 is now. 

The evidence is staggering. Earlier this year, USDA projected U.S. corn production for the 2025–2026 marketing year at a record-breaking 17 billion bushels. 

At the very same time, USDA warned that supply is outpacing demand.

Our farmers are under growing economic pressure, and without stronger domestic markets, many producers are heading toward a crisis.

Farmers are facing rising costs, shrinking margins, and growing unpredictability – not because they are failing, but because the system is failing them.

And while our producers are struggling, American families are being squeezed. Especially at the gas pump.

Right now, the average price of gas nationwide is around $4.50 a gallon.

Families need relief. And year-round E15 is the solution.  

That opportunity does not come around often. So we should seize it. 

That is why today I am calling on my colleagues – Republicans and Democrats alike – to come together and finally pass permanent, year-round E15 nationwide.

Let’s deliver certainty for our growers. Let’s deliver lower costs for consumers. Let’s strengthen American energy independence.

And let’s show the American people that Congress is still capable of coming together to solve real problems.

Thank you. 

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