Senate Agriculture Committee moves to make E15 ethanol sales year-round

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman released an updated draft of the 2026 farm bill that would permanently authorize nationwide year‑round sales of E15 gasoline, expanding consumer fuel choice and providing long‑term certainty for the domestic biofuel industry. The proposal attaches the E15 language to the farm bill to improve its chances of passage, although some Republican senators have voiced opposition. The draft also revises the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cost‑sharing rules, requiring states with payment error rates of six percent or higher to contribute a share of SNAP costs beginning in fiscal year 2029, and states with error rates of ten percent or more to pay a larger share starting in fiscal year 2031. The Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill on August 6 before the August recess.