Remarks by President Trump on Renewable Energy | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Mr. President, Secretary Perdue, and Administrator Wheeler, I want to sincerely thank you for setting direction to the EPA and making 15 percent ethanol blends available year round, bridging a gap to higher blends. You see, folks, I'm well aware of the conversations that the President held at the White House with colleagues, farmers, and my Iowa senators almost a year ago. I especially want to thank you, Senator Ernst. In those conversations, sir, you heard of the benefits of E15, and, best of all, you listened. Thank you. (Applause.)

    Just a couple months later, you gave direction to EPA to finalize the E15 rules. And here we are today: done. (Applause.) Mr. President, you delivered on E15, but we have more work to do. The EPA's oil refinery waivers threaten to undo your good works. I ask that you listen again because the pain that the ethanol and biodiesel industries have endured is holding back a farm economy that has further capacity to produce more clean air and clean liquid fuels for this country.

    Mr. President, around here, we have acres of clean air, (inaudible) 30,000 plants at a time. This is the corn state. And here in the greater Midwest, well, this is corn country. (Applause.)

    I also know you have long-term goals for a bill to get on desk on infrastructure. The needs for this were evident before, but with the destructive spring that this area, and so many other places across the nation have endured as well, this need is more glaring. I implore you to next tackle this with the same tenacity and vigor that you have with border security and other issues.

    I work in the greatest in- - (applause) - thank you. Yes. (Applause.) I work in the greatest industry we have in this country, and that's agriculture. We are blessed by God to have (inaudible) and the science that have let us achieve new heights in production. Whether that's yield of corn, the efficiency of this ethanol plant or gains in my cattle, agriculture continues to do more with less.

    Sir, I was just a 4-H-er and an FAA farm kid that grew up with a dream to farm. My background is not unique in rural America because every one of these proud Americans out here could've gotten up here and told their own similar story. These boys of mine may grow up to farm, possibly be a future President. An economically healthy rural America, though, is what will give them that opportunity.

    Agriculture gives back more than its weight in food, fuel, fiber, and people that love this country. The economic benefits and the clean air delivered through biofuels are wins for the seventh generation on my family farm and wins for all U.S. citizens.


    President Trump, keep winning with stronger support for these policies and the agricultural sector in the United States - great United States of America.

    Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.)

    THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

    MR. ROSS: Thank you.

    THE PRESIDENT: Thanks, Kevin. Wow. Thank you, Kevin. Great job. I'd like also to invite Kenny Wilcox up. He trains new employees here in Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy. Kenny - where's Kenny? Kenny? Come on up here, Kenny. (Applause.) Great job you're doing, Kenny.

    MR. WILCOX: Thank you. It's an honor.

    What SIRE and the ethanol industry has meant to me: I started my career here in 2012 and moved through the company into various positions to better myself in the company.

    SIRE has a dedicated team that is able to train individuals to give them opportunities for various work skills that doesn't necessary pertain to just ethanol.

    Not only has the ethanol industry helped me; it's helped my beautiful wife fulfill her dreams. And it's been amazing to see her excel in all aspects of her job and take on new jobs with a "willing to go after anything to fulfill her dreams" attitude.

    Ethanol plants are creating jobs and helping fuel the U.S. economy. Just in 2018, the industry has created over 70,000 workers. This does not include other companies that have started because of ethanol plants.

    My research has shown that one in four of those workers is a veteran, which a huge positive keeping our veterans to have stability after life in the military. (Applause.)

    I have a lot of friends that are veterans - all who were confused on what they were going to do once they were out. Ethanol plants were able to create some of these jobs for them with little-to-no experience.

    Since I've been here, SIRE has been pretty incredible to see companies starting up because of the up-rise of the ethanol industry. These all have created a lot of jobs for people around here, and I feel the best is yet to come for us in the community.


    We hear a lot about ethanol is not good and so-forth, but a lot of that information people get is false. I think people can look at the improvements that have been made and all the jobs that have been created by these plants, such as, but not limited to, welders, feedlots, enzyme companies, and electricians.

    One of our biggest benefits is the uproar of our trade schools that pertain a lot of jobs around here. I seem to think a lot of these things get overlooked by people.

    Thank you, President Donald Trump, for taking time to come here and address these ongoing struggles for the ethanol industry. And make America great again. (Applause.)

    THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Kenny. Well done. Thank you very much.

    And also with us is Randy Gard, who sells E15 across the region and all over the nation. Randy, please come up and tell us what it means. Tell us what you're doing and how we're making out. I think you're doing pretty good, by the way. Come up, Randy. Thank you. (Applause.)

    MR. GARD: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Randy Gard. I'm the chief operating officer at Bosselman Pump & Pantry, Bosselman Enterprises, located in Grand Island, Nebraska. And I am also a member of the Nebraska Ethanol Board.

    So, here's what I know: Today is a great day for the American farmer. Today is a great day for the ethanol industry. Today is a great day for fuel retailers. And it's a great day for the American consumer. Am I right? (Applause.)

    So bear with me and let me tell you our story. Bosselman Pump & Pantry convenience stores are located in Grand Island, Nebraska. Back in 2016, when Charlie and Brandi Bosselman asked me to take a look at fuel and see if those E15 thing made any sense, we looked at it and thought it's a competitive advantage. We talked to some of our customers and the customers said, "We'd like to try it."

    So we started to install the infrastructure, started to put all the marketing information behind it, and we came up with something fairly simple but compelling. We said E15 is simply better fuel and it costs less. And it was easy for our employees at our stores to articulate, easy for our customers to understand, and it must have worked because, if you look at it, in 2017, our sales of E15 increased over 300 percent. (Applause.) In 2018, they went up another 225 percent. (Applause.) And with the help of President Trump opening the door for year-round E15, our newest projections for this year show an increase of another 400 percent. (Applause.)


    Now, with only 10 percent - approximately 10 percent of the convenience stores in Nebraska currently offer E15. There's a huge, huge market opportunity. And I want to encourage retailers: Don't be afraid of it. Your customers love it. Our customers love it. Hey, numbers don't lie, right?

    So - and I'm also proud to say that I live in the second-greatest ethanol production state, right next to Iowa. (Applause.)

    So, when it comes to deals, Mr. Trump, being one or two in ethanol is a big deal. So - (applause) - so a couple of things: President Trump, thank you for opening the door to E15 year-round sales and driving our economy. (Applause.)

    On behalf of Bosselman Enterprises, the Bosselman family, the Ethanol Board, RFN, RFA. Once again, thank you. You have opened a world of opportunity for us. And thank you, President Trump, most of all for watching out for rural America. (Applause.)

    THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Randy. And thank you all. Thank you all.

    By unlocking the power of American agriculture and American energy, we are fueling our roaring economy - and that's what you're doing. Thank you. Fantastic job. America is now the hottest economy anywhere on Earth. We have the number-one economy - and acknowledged - on Earth.

    Unemployment is at the lowest level in over 51 years - soon to be broken. (Applause.) We'll break that record shortly.

    Since the election, we've created nearly 6 million jobs. And, frankly, if I would have said that during the election, the fake-news media would not have believed it. They would not. (Applause.) They would not have found that acceptable. If I ever used that number, they would have said there's no way.

    Nearly 900,000 fewer Americans rely on part-time work right now because they have full-time jobs. (Applause.) And you've heard me say this before, and I'm very proud of it: African American, Asian American, and Hispanic American unemployment have all reached their lowest levels in recorded history in this country. (Applause.)

    Wages are growing, and they are growing at the fastest rate for - this is something so wonderful - for blue-collar workers. (Applause.) The biggest percentage increase - blue-collar workers. And over the next three months, companies are expected to hire workers at the fastest pace in more than a decade, with the greatest gains for workers right here in the Midwest. We have the number-one location for gain. You know that. (Applause.)