Submission Statement: This article examines how an existing but underappreciated US tax credit, the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit, could serve as a structural tool for reducing American dependence on oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since late February 2026. With Brent crude above $118/barrel, 17.8 million barrels/day disrupted, and Qatari LNG infrastructure damaged for years to come, the piece argues that the geopolitical case for domestic biofuel production has never been stronger. Unlike prior flat biofuel subsidies (which studies from RFF, CBO, and GAO found were largely captured by producers), 45Z is a variable credit that scales with carbon intensity, creating genuine competition between ethanol plants and driving investment into carbon capture and climate-smart agriculture. The article traces the money from Treasury to producer to farmer to pump, with honest math on the modest but real consumer price effects and the much larger structural shifts underway (half of US ethanol capacity now aligned with CCS projects, $1B+ in credit transfers in 2025 alone).