{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221043413/http://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/Article.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1502=47840", "Homegrown Energy That Makes Sense", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "IA", "Charles Grassley", "G000386", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "The U.S. Senate exhibits more bipartisanship than what makes the biggest headlines.\u00a0 This week, a bipartisan group of 16 senators met with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy to deliver a single message:\u00a0 The agency\u2019s proposed reduction of the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2014 would discourage investment and hurt jobs in rural communities across the country while undermining a homegrown fuel supply. The EPA wants to lower the biodiesel target below current industry production levels and reduce the conventional ethanol target by more than a billion gallons.\u00a0\u00a0 In a Capitol Hill meeting, Administrator McCarthy listened to senators\u2019 concerns.\u00a0 I tried to impress upon her that while President Obama and his administration have claimed to be in favor of domestic biofuels, this proposal is a step backward and will harm our efforts to further diversify our fuel supply.\u00a0 The fact is, the \u201cblend wall\u201d limiting the amount of ethanol that can be blended with gasoline is a result of Big Oil\u2019s obstruction to higher ethanol blends, and the EPA\u2019s proposal rewards its obstruction.\u00a0 The Administrator heard a lot about the harm this proposal would do to the environment, our national and energy security, and our rural economies.\u00a0 I also personally relayed the request of the entire Iowa delegation to host a field hearing in Iowa to hear directly from farmers and biofuels producers about the benefits of the RFS. The EPA has a record of deciding major policy issues without hearing directly from the employers, workers and communities affected.\u00a0 That\u2019s a poor way to conduct the nation\u2019s business.\u00a0 I hope the Capitol Hill meeting persuaded the agency\u2019s leader on that point.\u00a0 Meanwhile, an example of forward-thinking energy policy unfolded in Iowa.\u00a0 The MidAmerican Energy Company announced that it plans to add up to 1,050 megawatts of wind generation in Iowa by year-end 2015, including up to 448 new wind turbines, in Grundy, Madison, Marshall, O\u2019Brien and Webster counties.\u00a0 All of the blades for the expansion will be manufactured in Fort Madison, according to MidAmerican. As the author of the first-ever production tax credit for wind energy in 1992, I was pleased to see the kind of extraordinary investment in wind-energy production that emphasizes the value and success of the federal production tax credit.\u00a0 Wind energy continues to prove that it\u2019s a force in America\u2019s energy supply by delivering clean, renewable power.\u00a0 Wind energy comes from local farms, it\u2019s for local customers and, most often, it adds investment value to local communities.\u00a0 Wind energy makes sense for America\u2019s future.\u00a0 The same is true for ethanol and biodiesel, as the EPA would be wise to note.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221043413/http://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/Article.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1502=47840"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9399508126080036, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}