Fuel Policy

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2023—American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) Senior Director of Fuels & Vehicle Policy Patrick Kelly today testified before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration against its proposal on two vehicle groups that serves as a de facto ban on internal combustion engine vehicles.

American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President and CEO Chet Thompson today applauded the bipartisan passage of H.R. 1435, the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act, from the House of Representatives. Chet testified before the House Energy & Commerce Committee in favor of H.R. 1435 earlier this summer. 

People and outlets across the ideological spectrum—even those favoring EPA’s proposal—see the end game clearly: it’s a de facto ban on internal combustion engine vehicles and, by extension, the American-made liquid fuels they run on.

More than 90% of American households own a car, so EPA’s proposal to ban the vast majority (about 70%) of new gasoline and diesel vehicles in less than 10 years is going to affect almost every one of us. It will set the terms for what cars and trucks we can even consider purchasing in the years ahead, and it will certainly affect those vehicle price tags; It will have massive repercussions across the U.S. economy and supply chains; It could upend and challenge U.S. energy security and potentially the reliability of our electricity.

“AFPM supports efforts to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation and believes that any successful strategy must encourage competition among all technologies. What we cannot endorse is regulatory overreach promoting a single technology that completely disregards the benefits of liquid transportation fuels.”

AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson testified before a House Energy & Commerce subcommittee on legislation aimed at preserving U.S. energy security and Americans’ ability to purchase the fuels and vehicles of their choosing while continuing to move the transportation sector in a more efficient and less carbon intensive direction.

“Refiners are pleased to see that EPA has chosen to abandon its unlawful attempt to turn the RFS—a liquid fuel program designed to promote U.S. energy independence—into yet another nine-figure government subsidy program for electric vehicles. eRINs do not belong in the RFS and shouldn’t be resurrected."

Every American should be able to choose the type of car or truck they want to drive. Restricting consumer choice by eliminating competition and banning entire vehicle power trains is the wrong path to achieving cleaner transportation or supporting U.S. energy security.

When Congress created the Renewable Fuel Standard, the intent was clear. The RFS was supposed to build a market for American-grown biofuels and support domestic energy security. Today, EPA wants to deviate wildly from this course. Instead of maintaining the RFS as a program for liquid transportation biofuels, EPA’s RFS proposal for 2023 to 2025 would begin transforming the RFS into yet another huge government subsidy for electric vehicles.