Higher-Ethanol Gasoline Wins House Vote in Biofuels Boost

The US House of Representatives passed legislation to allow year-round, nationwide sales of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline, handing a long-sought win to farm groups eager to boost demand for swelling corn supplies.

The measure, which passed 218-203 in a vote Wednesday, is only a first step. It still needs approval in the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain, and then support from the president. But the result represents a major advance for biofuels following more than a decade of failed attempts to expand the market for E15.