The two representatives said they want the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to look into whether the creation of more uniformity among gasoline blends could help ease supply problems and bring down prices.

“As families head out for the Memorial Day weekend, they’re having to empty their wallets into their gas tanks,” Green said.  “Supply problems are a big factor in these price spikes.  Many of the supply troubles are caused by out-of-control government-mandated fuel requirements.  We need to look at the ways these regulations aggravate our current gas crisis and we need to fix them.”

“We have to put an end to this cycle of escalating gas prices,” Ryan said.  “When the supply of gas shrinks, prices go up.  We need to cut down on the number of boutique fuels in our region so we can prevent supply crunches and therefore keep prices down.”

Green and Ryan said over 40 different blends of gas are used nationwide.  Nearly half of those blends are used in the Midwest.

“We believe the system could be much more efficient, and we think this study will prove us right,” Green said.  “If we had, say, five different blends instead of more than 40, distribution would be far easier.  Supply would likely increase and prices could come down.”

“Clean air and cheap gas can go together.  We do not have to choose one over the other,” Ryan said.  “As we look at regionalizing gasoline, we need more information about what it will mean in practice and the smartest way to move forward in order to protect people’s wallets as well as our air quality.  The study this legislation requests is a critical first step.”

The two said they have already secured key House leadership support for moving the bill quickly.  They said they hope to see it come to the House floor during the first few weeks in June.

Under the Green-Ryan bill, the EPA study would have to be completed in a four-month time frame.  The bill states that the study must address not only the broader issue of fuel-type consolidation, but also more specific issues such as meeting air-quality standards and using ethanol in any proposed Midwestern regional blend.

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