House Approves Higher-Ethanol Gasoline in Biofuels Boost

(Smith Collection/Gado via Getty Images)

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to allow year-round, nationwide sales of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline, handing a long-sought win to farm groups eager to boost demand for swelling corn supplies.

The measure, which passed 218-203 in a vote May 13, is only a first step. It still needs approval in the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain, and then support from the president. But the result represents a major advance for biofuels following more than a decade of failed attempts to expand the market for E15.

For corn farmers, the stakes are high. E15 — gasoline made with 15% corn-based ethanol — could provide a meaningful boost to demand, and profits, at a time when growers are dealing with record crops and rising costs of inputs like fertilizer.

“At a time of extreme market volatility and higher costs, this bill provides badly needed certainty for fuel retailers, oil refiners, ethanol producers, and consumers alike,” said Geoff Cooper, president of Renewable Fuels Association. “The legislation gives Americans the freedom to choose E15 and removes three decades of red tape that had stifled competition and choice in the marketplace.”

Efforts to authorize permanent E15 sales have failed in the past largely due to opposition from much of the oil industry, which has argued that biofuel blending mandates impose significant costs on refiners.

The politics this time around have been more complicated. The proposal pairs E15 expansion with limits on exemptions from biofuel-blending requirements for small refineries — a provision that has drawn support from some large oil companies but sparked fierce resistance from smaller operators. 

Check out our E15 and FAQ and fact sheets here: https://t.co/C4EKHJ1HJq — Renewable Fuels Association (@EthanolRFA) May 13, 2026

The proposal also has split corn and soybean farmers in an unusual twist, after the American Soybean Association said earlier Wednesday that it can’t support the legislation.

A spokesperson for the ASA pointed to research by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri, which found that small gains in corn prices from year-round, nationwide E15 gasoline are more than offset by decreases in soybean prices. The study looked at different scenarios in how nationwide E15 could impact biofuel demand, with “mixed impacts” on farm income.

In a post on X after the vote, ASA said it continues to “fully support” year-round access to E15 and policies that strengthen domestic biofuels demand. The group said it will continue to work with lawmakers and others to seek solutions for year-round E15 “without rewarding petroleum refiners who do not comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard at the expense of a critical domestic market for US soy.”

ASA Statement on House Passage of Year-Round E15 Legislation: pic.twitter.com/bbewbGSF6c — American Soybean Association (@ASA_Soybeans) May 13, 2026

John Fuher, vice president of government affairs for biofuels trade association Growth Energy, criticized the study, saying it’s impossible to make a reasonable calculation on how the legislation would impact soybean farmers without knowing how big blending mandates will be in years to come.

The push for E15 comes as the U.S. rolls out its most aggressive biofuel blending mandates to date, finalized in March after months of delays. While the renewable fuel standards were welcomed by farm groups, they leave conventional biofuel volumes — mostly corn ethanol — largely unchanged. Current blending levels also fall short of those requirements.

That dynamic has heightened the focus on E15 as a relatively straightforward way to create more demand and close the gap. The war in Iran is also bolstering the cause for E15, as the surge in crude oil prices spurs calls to expand biofuels markets at a faster pace.

The E15 legislation is now decoupled from the farm bill that’s also currently running through Congress.