Senators urge Vilsack to solve old problems tsln.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tsln.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Vilsack gets Senate agriculture panel’s backing to return to USDA
WASHINGTON Tom Vilsack told senators that if confirmed as Agriculture secretary he would champion biofuels as a climate tool for the Biden administration and pursue policies to aid small farmers.
The Senate Agriculture Committee recommended by voice vote Tuesday that Vilsack be confirmed. The vote came after Vilsack, who was Agriculture secretary for eight years under President Barack Obama, testified virtually to the panel.
Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and John Boozman, R-Ark., said they didn’t know when the nomination would go to the Senate floor. The two senators shared responsibility for running the hearing because the Senate has not approved its power-sharing agreement that would set committee ratios, chairmen and ranking members.
The former (and likely future) Secretary of Agriculture faced few tough inquiries.
Former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on Tuesday morning faced questions from the Senate Agriculture Committee during his confirmation hearing to reprise the role under President Biden. Despite serious concerns about his past tenure, he is expected to be confirmed with broad bipartisan support. The committee agreed to skip its usual 48-hour waiting period between the hearing and the vote, unanimously advancing Vilsack’s nomination on Tuesday afternoon. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has pledged a quick vote on the Senate floor.
President Obama’s former ag secretary was not asked a single question during Tuesday’s hearing about his agency’s troubling mismanagement of civil rights complaints during his long tenure.
REFINERY MARGIN TRACKER: Rising RINs costs pump up US refinery margins
US refining margins rose last week as higher RINs prices increased the cost of meeting the Renewable Fuel Standard mandate, with RINs for both ethanol and biodiesel breaching the $1/RIN price, an analysis by S&P Global Platts showed Feb. 1.
For the week ended Jan. 29, the price of an ethanol RIN rose almost 11 cents/RIN from the week earlier to reach $1.01/RIN while biodiesel RINs rose over 9 cents/RIN to $1.15/RIN, according to Platts assessments.
While RINs are a cost, refined products prices are inflated by those RINs. Also, US refiners that generate RINs can benefit from the higher cost.
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