API urges Congress to rethink E15 legislation amid shifting market realities

The American Petroleum Institute (API) today urged Congressional leadership to adopt a more balanced and up-to-date approach to E15 legislation, warning the current proposal no longer reflects today's fuel market realities. 

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, API President and CEO Mike Sommers said sweeping changes to federal biofuel policy, state volatility mandates, and market conditions have upended the fuels landscape, prompting API to oppose the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025 in its current form.

"Refiners are now navigating shifting federal compliance structures, a patchwork of state mandates, and a biofuels marketplace that is uncertain," said Sommers. "Any legislative consideration of year-round E15 should reflect today's realities and not those of the past. Congress must take a fresh look at how to promote fuel choice without undermining investment certainty or market stability."

The letter details how recent changes to federal tax rules, EPA decisions, and state-level policy reversals have imposed new costs on refiners and disrupted the fuels marketplace. Sommers urged lawmakers to pursue a holistic and balanced approach to E15 that supports consumer choice while maintaining reliable, affordable fuel supply.