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LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- With oil refining margins at an all-time high, a group of 22 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including 13 from Texas, are calling for reforms to the Renewable Fuel Standard if a farm bill passes and launches permanent year-round E15.

The lawmakers expressed concern about the Senate markup of the Agricultural Act of 2026, in a letter on Tuesday to House Speaker. Mike Johnson, R-La., saying the draft legislation raises "significant concerns" for the American refining industry and consumers, and without "meaningful reforms, risks codifying a flawed approach" to the RFS at a time when fuel markets are already adapting to a global fuel "crisis."

"At a time when domestic refining capacity remains constrained and fuel markets are increasingly vulnerable to supply disruptions; Congress should not be considering policies that create perverse financial incentives to produce less fuel or impose new costs and volatility on American consumers," the representatives said in the letter.

"As currently drafted, elements of Section 12501 risk doing just that," the letter said. "Specifically, the bill would negatively modify the RFS in several ways."

The representatives said any "expansion of E15" should be paired with "meaningful RFS reforms that protect domestic refining capacity and avoid shifting additional compliance costs onto other refiners."

Earlier in October, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a proposal to reallocate 770 million renewable fuel blending credits granted to small refiners, by adding them to RFS volume obligations for refiners either in 2026 or 2027.

The Texas lawmakers said they oppose the Senate farm bill's proposal to replace the existing process for small-refinery exemptions with a permanent production-based compliance reduction tied to qualifying refinery output from 2023 to 2025.

"By tying permanent SRE eligibility to historical output, this proposal would provide a direct financial incentive for facilities not to grow refining capacity beyond the 75,000-barrel-per-day threshold or risk permanent disqualification from future SREs," the lawmakers told Johnson. "Second, it would force non-exempt refineries to shoulder the compliance costs of their exempted competitors via reallocation, creating additional distortions in fuel markets and higher regulatory burdens, all at the expense of consumers who bear most of these costs at the pump."

The lawmakers said although there are "differing views" on potential RFS reforms, they could all agree that policies should encourage American fuel production.

"Year-round E15 and meaningful RFS reforms need not be mutually exclusive, and Congress should work toward a solution that advances both objectives," the letter said.

"Earlier this year, the House passed a farm bill focused on the needs of America's farmers, ranchers and rural communities. Changes to the RFS, however, carry consequences well beyond agriculture policy. Fundamental changes to the program deserve full input from the industries and consumers those policies affect and the congressional committees with proper jurisdiction over such policies, consideration that a farm bill markup was not designed to provide."

Signing the letter are Texas Reps. August Pfluger; Lance Gooden; Randy Weber; Brian Babin; Jake Ellzey; Roger Williams; Dan Crenshaw; Ronny Jackson; Michael McCaul; Pat Fallon; Beth Van Duyne; Monica De La Cruz; Brandon Gill; Pete Sessions; Oklahoma Reps. Stephanie Bice and Josh Brecheen; Ohio Reps. Michael Rulli and Mike Carey; along with Rep. Richard Hudson, N.C.; Kat Cammack, Fla.; Nicholas Langworthy, N.Y.; and John Joyce, Pa.

Read more on DTN:

"EPA Exempts 1.76B RIN Gallons in 2025," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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