Sensenbrenner Statement on Study Finding E15 Harms Engines

Statement

Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) today commented on the release of the full results of the Coordinating Research Council study, which found that E15, fuel with fifteen percent ethanol content, can cause premature engine damage.

"The conflicting evidence from the Department of Energy, the responses that I received from U.S. automakers, and now the Coordinating Research Council affirms that the EPA needs to slow down and make sure we get the science right here," Sensenbrenner said. "I introduced legislation that requires the EPA to allow the National Academies of Science, who has no economic interest in this fight, to conduct an unbiased study of E15.

"The EPA and ethanol lobby are telling consumers that using E15 is OK for their cars made after 2001, while the manufacturers of those same vehicles warn the fuel will void the warranty, lower fuel economy, and cause premature engine damage. We need to resolve the science first for the sake of the American people, before allowing E15 into the marketplace."

Sensenbrenner's legislation, H.R. 3199, passed the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology on February 7 by a vote of 19-7. This bill requires a comprehensive assessment of the scientific and technical research on the implications of fuel with more than 10 percent ethanol.

The Coordinating Research Council is a non-profit organization, established in 1942 and made up of the automobile and oil companies, that directs engineering and environmental studies on the interactions of transportation fuels with vehicles and engines.

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