(NAFB) – Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow this week called on the Biden administration to take steps to address the climate crisis by increasing federal investments in biobased products. The Michigan Democrat, joined by Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar, made the request in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The lawmakers say President Biden’s commitment to sustainable procurement is an opportunity to strengthen USDA’s BioPreferred program as the industry standard for sustainable procurement in government agencies. Stabenow and Klobuchar say renewable chemicals, biobased plastics, and other biobased products are effective tools in reducing the nation’s dependence on petroleum while creating markets for farmers.

The lawmakers wrote,” Growing the biobased economy supports good paying jobs for American workers and positions American companies to continue to lead the world in biobased innovation.” They say growing the biobased economy also positions American companies to continue to lead the world in biobased innovation.