Sustainable Bioenergy, Farms, and Forests - March 3, 2017 | Newsletter

Senate Reintroduces Bill to Allow Year-Round Sale of E15

On March 2, a bipartisan group of Senators, led by Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), reintroduced the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act (S. 517), which would amend the Clean Air Act to allow for the year-round sale of mid-level ethanol blends, particularly E15.

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Fact Sheet: Conservation Measures and the Farm Bill

The 1985 Food Security Act enshrined conservation in the Farm Bill. Already, Congress is discussing the 2018 Farm Bill, which will again be an important vehicle for encouraging on-farm conservation practices. On February 7, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Agricultural Act, or Farm Bill, of 2014 (Pub.L. 113-79), which extended the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s broad work on agricultural research and opportunities for farmers, ranchers and growers. The 2014 Farm Bill authorized $489 billion in spending by USDA through 2018, with 80 percent of its outlays funding nutrition programs, eight percent going to crop insurance, six percent to conservation, five percent to commodities, and one percent to other programs. National conservation programs through the Farm Bill are an important component of effective, voluntary, farm-level conservation practices that provide multiple benefits both to rural and urban areas. These programs use a variety of conservation tools to protect and improve water quality and quantity, soil health, wildlife habitat, and air quality.

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Headlines:

1. Senate Confirms Rick Perry as Energy Secretary

2. EIA Data Shows Blend Wall Broken in 2016 With Production at 15.33 Billion Gallons

3. White House Debates Icahn Plan Revamping Ethanol Rule

4. Water Rule Rollback Gives Growers What They Wanted From Trump

5. Reviewing CBO Baseline for Farm Bill Program Spending

Events:

Can the United States Achieve a Low Carbon Economy by 2050?

Thursday, March 9
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Room G11 – Dirksen Senate Office Building
Constitution Avenue and 1st Street, NE

Please RSVP to expedite check-in

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing showcasing two new reports on how to transition the United States toward a low carbon economy. The reports, From Risk to Return: Investing in a Clean Energy Economy and the United States Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization, present a range of pathways that can achieve deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2050. These pathways involve mixtures of: energy efficiency, renewable energy, nuclear power, carbon capture and storage, increased carbon sequestration in U.S. lands, and reductions in non-CO2 emissions. These pathways rely on commercial or near-commercial technologies that American companies are adopting and developing. The briefing will explore how deeper investment in clean energy can yield long-term dividends for the American economy.

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To Contact the Editor: Jessie Stolark at [email protected]

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