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Icahn, an unpaid adviser to Trump on regulation, submitted a
proposal to Trump last month to change the U.S. Renewable Fuel
Standard by shifting the burden of blending biofuels into
gasoline away from oil refining companies, and further down the
supply chain to marketers.
Public Citizen said that, because Icahn owns a controlling stake
in a refinery that could benefit from the proposed change, he
may have been required by a 1995 lobbying disclosure law to
disclose his discussions with Trump on the subject as lobbying.
The group said it would make its request for a probe in a letter
to Congress later on Wednesday.
"All of this has occurred with no record of any (Lobbying
Disclosure Act) filings by or on behalf of Mr. Icahn," Public
Citizen said in a copy of the letter provided to Reuters.
The Renewable Fuel Standard, signed into law by former President
George W. Bush, requires refiners to mix increasing levels of
renewable fuels into gasoline and diesel each year - a
requirement that many refiners say costs them millions of
dollars.
Icahn owns an 82-percent stake in refiner CVR Energy Inc, which
along with other refining companies, have urged the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to shift the blending
obligation away from them.
Icahn has said that the change would benefit not just his
company, but the entire refining industry.
Icahn has disclosed his role as a Trump adviser to the
Securities and Exchange Commission, but he has not registered as
a lobbyist. Several Democratic lawmakers have said they want
more information about his role in the Trump administration.
Last week, the head of a U.S. biofuels group said Icahn told him
that Trump was readying an executive order to change the point
of obligation for blending under the biofuels program, something
both the White House and Icahn have denied. The White House has
said it is reviewing Icahn's proposal and has not yet taken a
position.
(Reporting by Chris Prentice in New York; Additional reporting
by Emily Stephenson in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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