Renewable Fuel for Ocean-Going Vessels Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to co-sponsor the ``Renewable Fuel for Ocean-Going Vessels Act'' (H.R. 6681), with Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA01), Nikki Budzinski (D- IL13), and Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL28). This bipartisan bill would make maritime biofuel fully eligible under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) Renewable Fuel Standard, which currently only applies to biofuels for motor vehicles, airplanes, locomotives and, in limited circumstances, recreational boating or vessels on inland waterways.

Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58), Congress authorized the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which works to simultaneously reduce transportation-related emissions from fossil fuels and support domestic agriculture, forestry, and biofuels manufacturing. However, current law excludes otherwise eligible biofuels for ocean-going vessels. No rationale was ever provided for this exclusion in the Congressional hearing record or Committee reports for the 2005 and 2007 Energy Bills.

This arbitrary, counterproductive exclusion denies the burgeoning advanced biofuels and renewable natural gas industries in the United States important maritime customers. Our bipartisan bill would fix this problem by simply striking the exclusion, allowing domestic biofuels producers to obtain an RFS credit for selling to customers in the Jones Act and global maritime industries. The United States Navy has even sought to use renewable maritime fuels but has so far been stymied as domestic blenders simply do not make renewable maritime fuel because of this unnecessary exclusion.

To be clear, although modern engines for large vessels are increasingly capable of burning advanced biofuels instead of heavy bunker fossil fuels, our bipartisan bill would not require the use of renewable fuel in all ocean-going vessels. Instead, our bill would merely expand the potential market for biofuels and remove a statutory disincentive for developing renewable maritime fuels.

According to the USEPA's Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks from 1990 to 2021, the transportation sector accounted for approximately 29 percent of greenhouse gas emissions nationally, the largest of any economic sector. Tackling the climate crisis requires every industry to transition to cleaner, renewable fuels including the international ocean shipping and cruise industries. In July 2023, the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted new global standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from commercial cargo vessels and cruise ships. Our bipartisan ``Renewable Fuel for Ocean-Going Vessels Act'' (H.R. 6681) would support the global maritime industry's transition to alternative fuels like advanced biofuels and renewable natural gas from methane capture.

Mr. Speaker, the federal Renewable Fuel Standard's exclusion of fuel for ocean-going vessels, without any stated rationale, has created unnecessary regulatory complexity, hindered the advanced biofuel and renewable natural gas industries, and undermined the global effort to reduce maritime emissions. I encourage all Members of Congress to join me in removing this outdated restriction by cosponsoring our bipartisan the ``Renewable Fuel for Ocean-Going Vessels Act'' (H.R. 6681).

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