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Posts Tagged ‘house committee on energy and commerice’

Joe Barton has Apologizer’s Remorse

Posted in Campaign Finance, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 18, 2010 |

So he’s sorry he was sorry. Joe Barton, District 6 Congressman, apologized yesterday for his publicity stunt of an apology to BP where he equated the $20 billion aid fund to a shakedown. He claimed that his comments over being ashamed of the White House were misconstructed, as in constructed badly, kinda like that leaky oil well huh there Joey? *pause for laughter*

Republicans and Democrats immediately condemned Barton for his remarks and Representative Jeff Miller (R-Florida) called for Barton to resign as the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. When asked whether he planned to stay put on the committee, Barton responded:

“Damn straight.”

It’s clear that he was wrong in saying what he said, but what exactly inspired this self righteous act of disregard for the victims of the BP oil spill? Cash money you silly goose. Duh! Barton agrees that BP should be held responsible for their “bad accident” but only if it doesn’t involve funding aid to repair the lives and economy it has destroyed. Of the top 20 ranking industries contributing to Joe Barton’s campaign, oil and gas rank #2 at a grand total of $100,470.

As a matter of fact, October 15, 2010 marks the 7th Annual Barton Family Fishing Trip in beautiful Islamorada, Florida (that means purple island by the way). Current oil trajectory maps show that Islamorada will not be affected by the oil spill wait for it…YET. I guess we’ll just have to see if this party and the Gulf of Mexico’s tourist industry is still on in a few months.

For those of you who just won’t accept that Barton’s apology was fueled by campaign contributions there is another possibility. After all BP is a British based company with its headquarters located in London. Many wonderful things have hopped the pond and made life in the United States a little bit better. Maybe Joe Barton apologized to BP because he was afraid of incurring their wrath and in a vengeance driven rampage BP would snatch those wonderful things away. Because I don’t know about you but I love Harry Potter, and the Rolling Stones and The Office so we should listen carefully to how sorry BP actually is before we start holding them accountable for the safety and construction oversights that caused this tragedy:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAnsA96JK6Y]

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas and we’re not sorry about it.

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Common Cause on Special Interest Influence in Waxman/Markey Negotiations

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 15, 2009 |

Check out the following statement from Common Cause railing on the energy industry for exerting undue influence over the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.  I can’t say I’m surprised to hear that energy interests gave an average$107,230 in campaign contributions to Energy and Commerce committee members, nearly twice as much than any other member of the House — but I can say that I’m disappointed.  When our leaders receive this kind of money from the very industries they’re supposed to regulate, you’ve got to wonder who they’re really working for.  Cheers to Common Cause for not pulling any punches.

On eve of climate debate, energy industry opens wallet

Statement of Bob Edgar, President of Common Cause, on energy industry influence on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

As the House Committee on Energy and Commerce begins debate on a draft energy bill, an immediate and intense battle over whether this bill can pass in Congress is likely. Energy and climate change issues are high on the minds of the American people and were debated aggressively during the 2008 elections. The public demands action and deserves it.

The energy industry has already been active, though, and the American people similarly deserve to see how the industry – whose profits and future depend on decisions made in Congress, particularly the Energy and Commerce committee – has exerted tremendous influence over this debate already through targeted campaign contributions and massive lobbying expenditures.

A Common Cause analysis revealed that major energy interests contributed more than twice as much to Energy and Commerce committee members’ campaigns, on average, than to other members of Congress. Committee members received an average of $107,230 in campaign cash from the energy sector in the last election, while their non-committee counterparts collected an average of $46,539, a difference of over 130 percent.

The largest player in the energy sector, electric utilities like Southern Company and Duke Energy, had the most pronounced targeting of its campaign contributions. The average Energy and Commerce committee member received $49,495 from electric utility interests alone in the 2008 cycle, while a non-committee member received an average of $18,579, a difference of over 160 percent.

It’s an old adage that money follows power in Washington, but that refrain takes on new meaning – and potentially dangerous consequences – when the wealthy special interests are clearly poised to exert enormous influence over a decision as crucial as how to tackle energy independence, green jobs, and a warming planet. (more…)

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