(The Center Square) – An Illinois Republican challenging for the state’s 17th Congressional District is pushing back after Democratic Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Rockford, accused GOP lawmakers of siding with “Big Oil” over farmers during a debate over year-round sales of E15 gasoline.
Speaking during a House committee hearing, Sorensen argued expanding nationwide access to the ethanol blend would boost demand for corn and provide relief to struggling producers.
“We all know because we hear from our farmers that input costs are creeping up higher and higher while commodity prices sink lower and lower,” Sorensen said. “Allowing year-round E15 would increase domestic corn demand by more than 2 billion bushels annually.”
Year-round E15 fuel sales have been notably excluded from the main House Agriculture Committee’s draft of the 2026 Farm Bill.
But Republican challenger Julie Bickelhaupt, a farmer who grows corn and soybeans, said Sorensen is mischaracterizing why some Republicans opposed the measure.
“I would like to see E15 initiatives agreed upon,” Bickelhaupt told The Center Square. “But in this situation, I feel like Eric Sorensen totally missed the mark.”
Bickelhaupt said she supports expanding ethanol markets but acknowledged lawmakers sometimes oppose policies when they are tied to broader legislative packages.
“I wholly support oil production as a resource for fuel,” she said. “But it’s important to use a renewable energy source like corn to supplement a non-renewable resource like oil.”
Sorensen framed the issue as a choice between farmers and oil interests, arguing that expanding ethanol access would lower fuel costs for Americans while strengthening the agricultural economy.
“Increasing access to higher blends nationwide would provide consumers with a more affordable, low-carbon fuel option at the pump, saving Americans more than $20 billion in fuel costs,” Sorensen said. “It’s time that we put farmers ahead of big oil.”
Bickelhaupt said the congressman focused narrowly on one issue while ignoring the broader legislation the vote was attached to.
“Instead of seeing the big picture of the whole Farm Bill and the initiatives of other agriculture-leading industries, he chose to take that political position that he always does,” she said. “He likes to make a big deal out of one thing and say he’s supporting farmers when really that is not his initiative.”
Bickelhaupt also argued expanding ethanol blends could strengthen domestic energy production while reducing reliance on foreign oil.
“If we have more of our own production here and we can supplement it, do we need to import as much?” Bickelhaupt said. “It can help extend our ability to use oil in the future.”
