WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) met with the Illinois Farm Bureau’s new President Brian Duncan to discuss Illinois’s agricultural priorities as Congress works to reauthorize the Farm Bill. In the meeting, Duckworth also underscored her support for ethanol production, as well as her commitment to helping strengthen our national and energy security, drive down gas prices, support our farmers, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and drive rural economic opportunity in Illinois and across the country. Photos of the meeting can be found on the Senator’s website.
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“America has always depended on our nation’s farmers to grow the food and fuel we need—and I’m always proud to advocate for them on both the national and international stage any time I get the chance,” said Duckworth. “The work of Illinois’s farmers is so important to the strength of our state and our nation, and I look forward to working with the Illinois Farm Bureau President Duncan to support farmers across the state to make sure they have the resources and information they need.”
Duckworth has been a local and national leader in supporting biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The Senator has been outspoken about the necessity for the U.S. to utilize agricultural feedstock for SAF in order to meet President Biden’s ambitious emissions goals and the commonsense application and protection of the Department of Energy’s Commissioned Argonne National Lab’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies Model (GREET) lifecycle analysis for global and domestic SAF evaluations.
In her first trip abroad as a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Duckworth traveled to Japan last year where she met with government, trade and economic leaders as well as corporate and business officials to highlight how Illinois is uniquely positioned for greater investment and increased exports with international partners as a hub of agriculture manufacturing and technology. Specifically, Duckworth advocated on behalf of Illinois farmers to increase Japan's importation of ethanol, corn, soybean, pork, and other goods. As a result of her advocacy, Duckworth also helped the Biden Administration secure Japan’s open market to all U.S. biofuels as well as Japan’s commitment to double Japan’s ethanol imports from the U.S. by 2030.
Signed into law in 2022 by President Biden and championed by Duckworth, the Inflation Reduction Act provides $500 million to expand the number of service stations that offer low-carbon ethanol and biodiesel, made from Illinois corn and soybeans and also has incentives to make these low-carbon biofuels even lower-carbon than today. These climate-smart investments in Midwestern-grown fuels will also reduce our reliance on foreign oil. The bill also includes biofuels tax credits and the new SAF tax credits provisions which are a direct result of Duckworth’s leadership.
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