Today, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) voted with a bipartisan majority of her colleagues to pass a sweeping legislative package to address the skyrocketing prices of food and gas while supporting agricultural communities in Iowa and across the country.
The Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act is composed of seven bills to increase access to biofuels to lower costs at the pump, shore up the food and agriculture supply chain, and increase competition in the meat and poultry sectors which have long been dominated by the four largest meatpackers.
“Every day, I’m hearing from folks who are being crushed in grocery store check-out lines and at the pump with prices at an all-time high, and they need help NOW,” said Rep. Axne. “This package will increase access to biofuels - lowering costs for Iowa families while reducing our carbon footprint, will crack down on price fixing in the meatpacking industry, and address rising input costs for farmers. The Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act is the relief that families need and deserve, and I urge the Senate to take action on it immediately.”
The package includes Rep. Axne’s Renewable Fuel Infrastructure Investment and Market Expansion Act, which would invest $200 million to expand the nation’s biofuels infrastructure to increase the availability of E15 – an Iowa-grown fuel that costs upwards of 40 cents cheaper per gallon – and other higher blends of biofuels. The package also makes E15 available year-round.
A section-by-section summary of the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act can be found here.
Rep. Axne, as a co-chair of the House Biofuels Caucus, has been a consistent leader in supporting Iowa farmers and biofuels producers.
Original source can be found here.
