I
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7484
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 7, 2022
Mr. Rice of South Carolina (for himself and Ms. Lofgren) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Clean Air Act to eliminate the corn ethanol mandate for renewable fuel.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Food before Fuel Act
.
Findings; sense of Congress
Findings
Congress finds the following:
Ukraine accounts for 16 percent of global corn exports and 12 percent of wheat exports.
The United States could more than compensate for the loss of Ukraine’s exports by diverting crops that are to be made into biofuels into food production instead.
Almost 70 percent of all United States grain production is corn, but almost half is formulated into ethanol to drive cars and trucks.
Converting corn into fuel happens only because of a mass of Federal regulations and subsidies that began during the Carter administration.
While ethanol may have small environmental advantages over gasoline, the benefits are nullified by ethanol’s toll on world food output.
Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that the Federal Government should not be incentivizing farmers to grow corn for ethanol while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is jeopardizing the lives of Ukraine’s citizens and is on track to cause a severe malnutrition across the world. As this supply is cut off, food prices which are already at record levels, will increase at a time when the economic fallout from the pandemic is already harming household budgets, particularly in low-income countries.
Elimination of corn ethanol mandate for renewable fuel
Removal of table
Section 211(o)(2)(B)(i) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(2)(B)(i)) is amended by striking subclause (I).
Conforming amendments
Section 211(o)(2)(B) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(2)(B)) is amended—
in clause (i)—
by redesignating subclauses (II) through (IV) as subclauses (I) through (III), respectively;
in subclause (I) (as so redesignated), by striking of the volume of renewable fuel required under subclause (I),
; and
in subclauses (II) and (III) (as so redesignated), by striking subclause (II)
each place it appears and inserting subclause (I)
; and
in clause (v), by striking clause (i)(IV)
and inserting clause (i)(III)
.
Administration
Nothing in this section or the amendments made by this section affects the volumes of advanced biofuel, cellulosic biofuel, or biomass-based diesel that are required under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)).