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Cruz Win Hits Corn's Clout and Emboldens Ethanol Foes in Senate

  • Refiners see opening to overhaul renewable fuel mandates
  • Ted Cruz criticized the biofuel quotas on campaign trail
Senator Ted Cruz delivers remarks during his campaign's caucus night celebration in Des Moines, Iowa, on Feb. 1, 2016.

Senator Ted Cruz delivers remarks during his campaign's caucus night celebration in Des Moines, Iowa, on Feb. 1, 2016.

Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
Updated on

Senator Ted Cruz’s victory in the Iowa Republican caucuses emboldens other critics of federal biofuel mandates just as the U.S. Senate is poised to consider a measure that would gut the decade-old program.

The Senate could vote on proposals to spike the program’s ethanol mandate or sunset the entire renewable fuel standard in 2022 as part of a broad energy bill now being debated in the chamber.