Biden waiving ethanol rule in bid to lower gasoline prices

By WILL WEISSERT, JOSH BOAK and MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

MENLO, Iowa (AP) — President Joe Biden has journeyed to corn-rich Iowa to announce he’s suspending federal rules that restrict ethanol in gasoline, aiming to strike at least a small blow against surging inflation. He said Tuesday at a biofuel plant that the action should trim about a dime a gallon at a limited number of stations — about 2,300 of the nation’s more than 100,000.  Biden is intensifying efforts to lower prices at the pump that have spiked during Russia’s war with Ukraine. The Environmental Protection Agency will issue an emergency waiver to allow widespread sale of a higher ethanol blend that’s usually prohibited between June 1 and Sept. 15 because of concerns it adds to smog in high temperatures.