Trump to meet U.S. senators to discuss renewable fuels program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas will lead a delegation of lawmakers in a meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday to argue for changes to the nation's biofuels policy, which they say threatens oil refining jobs.

The meeting comes after the Environmental Protection Agency last month announced a slight increase in the amount of biofuels that refining companies are required to blend into the nation's fuel under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), bowing to the demands of ethanol makers and their supporters.

Refiners oppose the RFS because they say it cuts into their market for petroleum-based fuels and costs them hundreds of millions of dollars a year in blending expenses.

"(President Trump) will listen to the concerns of senators who represent these workers, with the hope of finding common ground on both sides of this debate in order to achieve energy independence, provide affordable energy for consumers, create jobs and economic opportunity," said Lindsay Walters, a White House spokeswoman.

The meeting will include EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, the White House said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Frances Kerry and Jeffrey Benkoe)