By Office of U.S. Sen. John Kennedy WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy met Dec. 7 with President Donald Trump, top administration officials and a group of fellow senators at the White House to advocate for Louisiana oil refining jobs while discussing potential changes to the nation’s biofuels policy. “Louisiana is one of the nation’s largest energy refining states. As such, we have 17 refineries with thousands of workers who depend on maintaining a reasonable proportion of biofuels for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).   It’s imperative that we ensure our nation’s refineries have a seat at the table as we continue to debate a potential legislative overhaul of the RFS,” Kennedy said. “The current Renewable Fuel Standard is harming Louisiana refiners, families, fishers and workers,” Cassidy said.  “The status quo is unacceptable, so today’s meeting with President Trump was a positive step in the right direction.  I look forward to finding answers for this issue.” The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) sets the amount of ethanol and biodiesel that must be blended into transportation fuel. The mandated minimum amount of biofuel increases each year, decided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). … [Read more...]

By Message Staff Parts of Louisiana enjoyed a rare December treat Friday, Dec. 8 - a snow day. Several inches fell throughout the state, including a number of Louisiana Baptist churches. If you have any snow photos, please send them to brian@baptistmessage.com or post them to our Facebook page. … [Read more...]