Biden is finding it difficult to live up to his promise. The COVID-19 pandemic has dampened fuel consumption and triggered a handful of ethanol plant shutdowns. Higher regulatory costs have refiners threatening to close refineries and shed high-paying union jobs.

the Environmental Protection Agency issued a long-awaited biofuel blending mandate proposal that cut ethanol requirements for 2020 and 2021 but restored them to 15 billion gallons for 2022. Farmers and biofuel producers criticized the rollbacks but welcomed the restoration this year.

'Sapere aude'