WASHINGTON, D.C. (NAFB) – Biofuels and rural broadband were the hot Ag topics on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

Longtime ethanol backer and Iowa U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley warned of the impact a Supreme Court ruling favoring oil refiner ethanol waivers could have on the biofuels industry.

With the loss of four billion gallons of ethanol demand blamed on the waivers since 2016, starting with the loss of half a billion gallons then that Grassley and others have asked new EPA chief Michael Regan to restore and not to further delay current volume targets.

Across Capitol Hill, The House Ag Committee heard from experts like Vickie Robinson of Microsoft Global Airband Initiative on how and how much it will cost to get broadband to some 24 million unserved rural Americans.

Something the FCC hopes to complete this year while other hearing witnesses stressed internet sustainability, affordability, easy deployment, and avoiding a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach for all rural areas.

Greater coordination among the FCC, USDA and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will also be key to avoid grant duplication to areas served at the expense of areas lacking broadband.