⏱️ 3 min read
By the PILLARS team. Updated November 6, 2026.
H.R. 1346 would let gas stations sell E15, gasoline with up to 15 percent ethanol, in summer on the same terms as the E10 sold today. It also changes how small oil refineries are treated under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The House passed it 218 to 203 on May 13, 2026. The Senate has not voted on it, so it is not law.
What is E15?
Ethanol is a type of alcohol, usually made from corn in the U.S., that is mixed into gasoline. Most gas sold in the U.S. is E10, which has 10 percent ethanol. E15 has up to 15 percent.
What changes for E15
Right now, the summer exemption from federal limits on how easily gasoline evaporates (its vapor pressure) covers fuel with 10 percent ethanol, but not fuel with up to 15 percent.
The bill extends that exemption to fuel with 10 to 15 percent ethanol, so E15 could be sold in summer on the same terms as E10.
EPA would have 18 months to update its rules for E15 pump labels and underground storage tanks.
What changes for small refineries
The Renewable Fuel Standard is the federal program that requires refiners to blend renewable fuels such as ethanol into gasoline or buy credits instead. Small refineries can ask EPA to excuse them from it. The bill changes that starting in 2028:
EPA could no longer grant small refineries case-by-case exemptions.
Instead, small refining companies, those that produced no more than 75,000 barrels a day in 2025, would have their requirements cut by 75 percent.
A small refinery facing closure because of the program’s costs could ask EPA for a hardship exemption. Those exemptions are capped in 2028 at the energy equivalent of 150 million gallons of conventional biofuel.
EPA could not shift the reduced requirements onto other refiners.
Where it stands
The House passed the bill 218 to 203 on May 13, 2026. The Senate received it the next day and sent it to the Committee on Environment and Public Works, where it has not had a vote.
What supporters and critics said
Both quotes are from the House debate on May 13, 2026, as printed in the Congressional Record.
The case for. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS): “We already know that E15 works. We have had summer E15 for years, and it has consistently helped lower prices at the pump. Families shouldn’t lose access to cheaper fuel options just because the calendar changes. We need year-round E15.”
The case against. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY): “This bill would create a $3 billion or more annual cost increase for small refineries because of the blending and compliance costs. This bill will increase the cost of gasoline by an average of over 35 cents per gallon, with some States seeing an increase of well over $1 per gallon.”
See how your representatives voted
PILLARS shows how every member of the House voted on the bill and tracks it in the Senate: H.R. 1346 on PILLARS.
