Why It Matters

Clean Fuels Alliance America filed its third-quarter 2026 in-house lobbying report covering year-round E15 sales, renewable fuel volume requirements, maritime biofuel credits, and a biodiesel tax credit under S. 5583. The filing names five bills across both chambers: H.R. 1346, which passed the House; S. 881, which is in committee; H.R. 1896 and S. 593, which have been referred to committee; and S. 5583. ​

E15 is gasoline blended with up to 15% ethanol; current Clean Air Act rules restrict its sale during summer months, and the bills would remove that seasonal limit nationwide.

By the Numbers

The in-house filing reports $350,468 for the third quarter of 2026, up $865 from the $349,603 reported in-house for the second quarter of 2026. The client's combined total across all registrants this quarter is $400,468, down $89,135 from the second-quarter total of $489,603. The same-quarter total a year earlier was $587,578, spread across five registrants.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP filed the only outside report this quarter at $50,000. Three outside firms that billed a combined $130,000 in the third quarter of 2025, Bracewell LLP, Jim Massie & Partners LLC, and KBS Group LLP, have no third-quarter 2026 filing in the data; the filing deadline was Oct. 20, 2026.

The Clean Fuels Alliance America's 2026 Q3 filing names two lobbyists: Kurt Kovarik, vice president of federal affairs, whose record lists Senate Finance Committee experience in the 110th Congress; and David Cobb, director of federal affairs, whose record lists experience connected to Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT); both are marked as having prior government experience. Brownstein's third-quarter 2026 team lists Jared Jones, Harold Hancock, and Russ Sullivan; Mark Warren, who appeared on Brownstein's second-quarter 2026 filing, is not listed this quarter.

Broader Context

Year-round E15 (H.R. 1346 / S. 593)

H.R. 1346, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025, sponsored by Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE-3), passed the House in May 2026 and is listed as "Passed House" in the Legis1 record. It had been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee in February 2025. Its Senate companion, S. 593, sponsored by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), was referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Feb. 13, 2025, and the record lists no hearings. Both bills amend the Clean Air Act to extend the Reid Vapor Pressure waiver currently available for E10 to E15, enabling year-round sales, and direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to return compliance credits to small refineries under certain circumstances.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture urged passage of both bills. Twenty-seven House members, led by Rep. Pat Fallon, opposed attaching year-round E15 to year-end legislation in November 2025, arguing it would disadvantage U.S. refiners and risk higher consumer prices.

Ocean-vessel Biofuels (H.R. 1896 / S. 881)

S. 881, the Renewable Fuel for Ocean-Going Vessels Act, sponsored by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), received a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Sept. 10, 2025. Its House companion, H.R. 1896, sponsored by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-1), was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee in March 2025 with no hearing recorded. Both bills would expand the federal renewable fuel program under the Clean Air Act to cover fuel used in ocean-going vessels, allowing renewable fuel credits to be generated for those maritime fuels.

Small Agri-Biodiesel Producer Credit and 45Z

The Small Agri-Biodiesel Producer Credit, which provides 20 cents per gallon on the first 15 million gallons for producers with capacity of no more than 60 million gallons, is scheduled to expire at the end of 2026. On Oct. 2, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the bipartisan Small Agri-Biodiesel Producer Credit Extension Act (S. 5583), which would extend the Small Agri-Biodiesel Producer Credit through the end of 2029. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, extended and enhanced the Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit through 2029, including a small agri-biodiesel producer transition provision.

Renewable Fuel Standard Volumes and Trade

The EPA finalized the 2026 and 2027 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule on April 1, 2026, setting volume targets for biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. The filing also lists Executive Order 14257, Annex II, and biodiesel antidumping and countervailing duty orders on Argentina and Indonesia. The Commerce Department and International Trade Commission continued those orders after sunset reviews in June 2023.

Competitive Landscape

Thirty organizations are on record lobbying H.R. 1346, including Growth Energy Inc., National Farmers Union, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, American Petroleum Institute, and Valero Energy Corp. Twenty organizations are on record lobbying S. 593, including Growth Energy Inc., POET LLC, American Petroleum Institute, and Marathon Petroleum Co. LP.

The Bottom Line

The client's combined lobbying total has declined over recent quarters, with three outside firms absent from the third-quarter 2026 record after billing consistently through the third quarter of 2025; whether those engagements have ended or filings remain pending will be clearer after the Oct. 20 deadline. H.R. 1346 has passed the House, while its Senate companion, S. 593, has been referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; S. 881 is in committee, and H.R. 1896 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee

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