Americans for Prosperity-Iowa joins coalition calling fuel mandate the ‘wrong road for Iowa to take’
Americans for Prosperity has joined with the Fuel Choice Coalition to oppose legislation that would impose a restrictive mandate limiting the choices Iowans can make at the pump, raising prices, and hurting rural businesses and their employees.
Members of the coalition stressed that in the midst of a pandemic that has created unprecedented challenges for the state is an especially bad time to impose new costs on consumers and businesses.
That’s what the governor’s proposal to mandate that fuel sold in the state contain at least 10 percent ethanol and 11 percent biodiesel would do.
“By labeling non-ethanol or non-biodiesel options as ‘restricted use,’ we’re moving away from consumer choice and into artificial market manipulation bordering on a fuel mandate,” said Drew Klein, state director of Americans for Prosperity-Iowa. “This is new regulation, not for the sake of public safety, but as a means of picking winners and losers in the economy.”
The Fuel Choice Coalition, which includes distributors, retailers, wholesalers, and transportation groups, points out that the infrastructure to deliver on the mandate simply doesn’t exist, largely as a result of federal Environmental Protection Agency restrictions, and would cost $1 billion and take more than a decade to put in place.
In a prepared statement, the coalition called the proposed mandate “the wrong road for Iowa to take.”
Coalition member and FUELIowa President and CEO Ronald N. Langston said, “we urge the legislature to back away immediately from supporting mandates and instead support the infrastructure that will actually increase the usage of biofuels.”
