The Senate should reject the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, prevent unchecked E15 expansion, and pursue meaningful reforms to the Renewable Fuel Standard.
What This Deal Really Does
This proposal locks in high costs. It does not reduce them.
If passed by the Senate, the bill would:
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Make fewer refineries eligible for Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) relief, leading to higher compliance cost burdens pushed onto mid-sized, independent refiners
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Nearly eliminate small refinery exemptions (SREs) from the RFS, removing the only mechanism that provides refiners relief and lowers pump prices
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Expand E15, opening the door to higher RFS mandates and driving up RFS compliance costs across the system
Impact on Gas Prices
- The Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act would increase costs for American consumers. Currently, the RFS adds more than 30 cents per gallon at the pump, with recent estimates reaching 45 cents.
- Allowing the year-round E15 with the elimination of SREs without meaningful reform would increase compliance costs. These volatile compliance costs act as a hidden tax on America’s remaining independent refiners and consumers alike.
- At a time when affordability is a top concern, this proposal would move policy in the wrong direction.
Impact on U.S. Energy Security
- The U.S. is already operating with reduced refining capacity after multiple closures and years of tightening margins. This proposal adds new cost pressure on the independent refiners that sustain regional fuel supply, pushing some closer to closure or consolidation.
- The result is straightforward: weaker domestic fuel production, greater reliance on foreign fuels, and increased vulnerability during supply disruptions.
Who Benefits
- This proposal tilts the market toward those best positioned to absorb or avoid its costs, large integrated or multinational oil companies, while shifting the burden onto independent refiners.
- As flexibility disappears and costs rise, smaller and mid-sized refiners are squeezed out, and consumers are left paying more for gas prices with less security.
