The avowed watchdog group Public Citizen says in letters to the U.S. Senate and House that businessman Carl Icahn, a special adviser to the White House, may have violated federal lobbying laws when he tried to change the Renewable Fuels Standard, reports DTN. Icahn says the group is inciting a “witch hunt” against him.
In an op-ed in The Hill newspaper, Icahn responded to the group’s argument that he and his companies should have registered with Congress as lobbyists by saying, “I have vetted my activities with a number of lawyers and it is clear that no registration is required.” In turn, Public Citizen said the Justice Department ought to investigate Icahn’s influence on federal policy.
The dispute is the latest round in the bureaucratic fighting over the RFS, which splintered the unity of ethanol trade groups. Icahn, who owns a refinery, wants to shift responsibility for compliance with the biofuel mandate away from refiners and onto fuel blenders and retailers. Such a move could save his refinery the $200 million a year it spends buying renewable fuel credits to comply with the law.
The ethanol industry says the so-called point of obligation should remain with refiners or the law will be impossible to enforce. One ethanol group said it would go along with the change if the White House agreed to year-round sales of E15. The White House has said no executive order on RFS is pending.