Propane Days Results in Congressional Propane Caucus Growth

As a result of the Propane Days, the industry’s annual gathering in Washington, D.C., the newly-formed Congressional Propane Caucus (CPC) doubled in size to now include 20 members of Congress. Ten additional members of Congress joined the (CPC) as a result of Propane Days, bringing the total number of members to 20.

Robert Latta (R-OH) and Timothy Walz (D-MN), announced the creation of the Congressional Propane Caucus (CPC) last month and sent a letter to every member of Congress inviting them to join. The Caucus was formed to provide a bipartisan forum to engage members of Congress, their staffs, and the public on issues of importance to propane consumers and the propane industry. CPC founding members included five members of each party:

• Co-chair, Rep. Robert E. Latta (R-Ohio)

• Co-chair, Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.)

• Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.)

• Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.)

• Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.)

• Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.)

• Rep. Dave Loebsck (D-Iowa)

• Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.)

• Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.)

• Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.)

Additional members to join resulting from the 2015 Propane Days event include:

• Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA)

• Rep. Charles Dent (R-Pa.)

• Rep. Garrett Graves (R-La.)

• Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.)

• Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa)

• Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.)

• Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.)

• Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.)

• Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio)

• Rep. David Young (R-Iowa)

Last May, Propane Caucus co-chairman Latta announced that he was “Pleased to join his colleague Congressman Walz in leading the effort in the House. Thanks to an increase in domestic production and the development of shale formations across the country — including the Utica/Point Pleasant formation in my home state of Ohio — Americans are blessed with an abundance of this essential resource. Propane is vital to our everyday lives; it heats our homes, aids in the production of our farms, and is increasingly being used as an alternative, clean-burning fuel for transportation. I am pleased to start this caucus in order to educate fellow members of Congress on the many uses of propane, its importance to the constituents we serve, and the issues both the industry and its consumers face.”

According to the National Propane Gas Assocation, propane contributes to $38.7 billion to America’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides nearly 50,000 domestic jobs with more than 50 million Americans choosing propane for a variety of applications including appliances, autogas, grain drying, irrigation systems, lawn and landscape equipment, forklift and many other uses.