The National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCRR) issued the following statement from Rob Green, NCCR’s executive director, on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume mandate for 2014:

“The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed adjustment to the Renewable Fuel Standard volume mandate is an implicit recognition that the ethanol mandate is out of sync and out of touch with current market realities. With this proposal, the EPA is essentially saying, ‘if you like your existing corn ethanol mandate, you can keep it.’

“Even though the EPA proposal purports to address long-term and lingering concerns about hitting the ethanol ‘blend wall,’ which would increase fuel and gasoline prices, it does nothing to alleviate the economic distortions the corn ethanol mandate has inflicted on commodity and food costs paid by America’s small businesses and consumers. The EPA, in effect, is hamstrung by current law.

“The Renewable Fuel Standard has wrought havoc on food retailers, restaurants, franchisees, and operators, as well as food producers, and suppliers. However, the ultimate losers are consumers. Study after study has shown that the corn ethanol mandate has artificially driven up commodity costs by billions of dollars annually, and with it, consumer prices.

“Today’s proposal by the EPA reaffirms our steadfast belief that Congress needs to repeal the RFS mandate once and for all. The time has come to end the federal government’s failed experiment with the RFS and the corn ethanol mandate.” 

The National Council of Chain Restaurants is the trade association exclusively representing chain restaurant companies. For more than 40 years, NCCR has worked to advance sound public policy that best serves the interests of restaurant businesses and the millions of people they employ. NCCR is a division of the National Retail Federation.