President Joe Biden in Iowa will end restrictions on E15 gas sales to help ease fuel price

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President Joe Biden is scheduled to arrive in Iowa this morning, touching down in Des Moines and traveling to nearby Menlo where he will announce lifting restrictions on E15 gasoline sales to help ease fuel prices.

"The president is committed to doing everything he can to address price increases Americans are facing as a result of further invasion of Ukraine" by Russia, a senior administration official said Monday in advance of Biden's visit to a Poet ethanol plant.

The president will direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use an emergency waiver to allow summer sales of gasoline with 15% ethanol, called E15, to help boost fuel supplies, the official said.

The move is expected to cut prices for U.S. motorists by at least 10 cents a gallon, the White House said.

More: As President Joe Biden visits Iowa, here's what to know about E15

The savings could be even higher in Iowa, the nation's largest producer of ethanol and the corn used to make it. Motorists could save 30 cents a gallon over gasoline with 10% ethanol, called E10, and 70-cents over gasoline with no renewable fuel blended in it, ethanol officials say.

"Those savings, of course, can add up, especially during summer months when demand for fuel is elevated," the official said, and when supplies are restricted due to Russia's war on the Ukraine.

The move is expected to be hailed in Iowa and other Midwestern states, where elected officials, farm groups and biofuel leaders have pressured the administration to tap into the nation's biofuel supply to ease costs at the pump, which are now at record highs.

Republican Party of Iowa chairperson Jeff Kaufmann and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said on a call with reporters Tuesday that the announcement is a good thing for Iowa consumers. But they said Biden should have made the change earlier, and they criticized him more widely for his handling of inflation across the country.

"My grandpa used to have a saying. He always would say that when somebody was trying to fix a problem but they didn't really have their heart in it, he would always say it was like peeing on a forest fire," Kaufmann said. "That's exactly what this announcement is today. And here's the other deal: Joe Biden started the forest fire."

E15 is currently banned in several states from June 1 to Sept. 15 because it is believed to contribute to smog during warmer weather.

Ethanol supporters say those claims are unfounded, adding that total emissions with E15 are less than E10 and gasoline with no renewable fuel.

The White House said the EPA would work with states to ensure there are no significant air quality impacts through the summer driving season. E15 likely will be used outside of large East and West coast cities where smog concerns are the greatest, the administration said.

The move also will support rural jobs and cut the nation's reliance on foreign fuels, the administration said. "We recognize there's a real opportunity in front of us to address the near-term supply challenges, leveraging our homegrown fuels," another official said, adding that biofuel also will play a "critical role in decarbonizing our broader economy."

The Biden administration also said EPA is talking with some states that want year-round E15, a move that Gov. Kim Reynolds and six other governors made in November.

Ernst told reporters Tuesday that she would like to see the move to year-round E-15 become permanent and wants to see more support for biofuels in general.

"The administration needs to acknowledge that this is a solution that is readily available today, but Democrats need to get on board with that as well," she said.

More: With Biden visiting a central Iowa ethanol plant, producers hope he'll suspend summer E15 sales ban

The trip is Biden's first to Iowa since becoming president, though he appeared regularly in the runup to the 2020 Iowa caucuses and ahead of the 2020 general election. Biden lost both contests, placing a distant fourth during the caucuses and placing 8 percentage points behind Republican Donald Trump that November.

More: Nearly 60% of Iowans disapprove of President Joe Biden's job performance

Today, he is deeply unpopular among Iowans, according to the latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll. According to the Register's March poll, just 35% of Iowa adults approve of Biden’s performance. Another 59% disapprove and 6% are unsure.

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Joe Biden to appear at Iowa ethanol plant, end ban on E15 gas