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Biofuel advocates are making a last-minute push to convince House lawmakers to approve year-round sales of gasoline blended with higher volumes of ethanol ahead of a vote on Capitol Hill this week, as ‌the refining sector seeks to sink the effort.

The vote for year-round gasoline blended with 15% ethanol (E15) represents the closest the industry has gotten ‌so far to achieving a major goal they have sought for years, but they still face opposition from lawmakers in refining states and uncertainty in a deeply divided Senate.

A similar provision was ​removed from a stop-gap funding bill in 2024, following opposition from Elon Musk, who was acting as the Trump administration’s efficiency chief, along with certain conservative lawmakers. A renewed push in January 2026 also failed, with lawmakers instead opting to form a task force to study allowing year-round E15 sales.

Representatives for Elon Musk did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

Both sides are lobbying Congress, with representatives from the Renewable Fuels Association, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Small Refineries of America meeting ‌lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Monday and Tuesday.

If passed, ⁠the H.R. 1346 bill, or the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, would allow, but not require, fuel retailers to sell gasoline blended with 15% ethanol year‑round nationwide, while also tightening rules for refineries seeking exemptions from the Environmental ⁠Protection Agency’s record biofuel-blending requirements on economic hardship grounds.

The E15 blend is typically barred during the summer months due to smog concerns, though the Trump administration has temporarily waived that restriction for 20 days from May 1 to help curb gasoline prices that have spiked since the Iran war.

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