Will Biden's Ethanol Move Bring Down Gas Prices?

President Joe Biden announced a new effort to reduce gas prices this week by lifting a summer ban on the sale of higher-ethanol fuel. Will it work?

During a trip to Iowa Tuesday, Biden said the Environmental Protection Agency would issue an emergency waiver from the Clean Air Act to allow the sale of gasoline that is 15% ethanol from June 1 to Sept. 15. The sale of higher-ethanol gasoline is typically banned during the summer over concerns that it increases smog and greenhouse gas emissions. The administration says that the change will lower gas prices by about 10 cents per gallon at the 2,300 gas stations equipped to pump it. The move comes as inflation continues to rise at the fastest pace in decades, primarily driven by high energy prices.

Pushback to the plan has come from across the political spectrum. Some left- and center-rated reports highlighted environmental activists who criticized the move as short-sighted and raised concerns about the potential climate effects from the use of high-ethanol gas. Some right-rated reports focused on voices who argued that the move wouldn't bring consumers much relief, since the high-ethanol gas will only be sold at 2,300 of the country’s 150,000 gas stations. Voices across the spectrum agree that high inflation and gas prices could spell trouble for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections.