The latest effort in the House of Representatives to circumvent the President’s authority and extensive processes that have been developed to make decisions on projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline came out today.

Today it comes via a discussion draft for a bill to be introduced by Rep. Lee Terry and a few colleagues, which would, in their own words, “remove the projectā€™s fate from the presidentā€™s hands and clear away the roadblocks preventing construction of the pipeline.”

And guess what, it’s covered in Dirty Energy Money!

This is a common refrain on this blog at this point, so let’s cut to the chase:

The 5 cosponsors of this bill — Lee Terry (R-NE),Ā Fred Upton (R-MI), Ed Whitfield (R-KY),Ā Jim Matheson (D-UT), and John Barrow (D-GA) — simply can’t get enough dirty energy money, it seems. Ā According to our Dirty Energy Money database:

  • The co-sponsors have, onĀ average, received over $662,000 in fossil fuel-related campaign contributions in their careers. Ā That’s overĀ 410% moreĀ than the average member of the House of Representatives. Ā Read that again: over 4 times more in dirty energy money than their counterparts.
  • The co-sponsors have, on average, received more than $325,000 Ā in oil-related oil-related campaign contributions. Ā That’s over 340% more than the average member of the House of Representatives.
  • In total, the five co-sponsors have received over $3.3 MILLION in campaign contributions from fossil fuel-related interests, half of that ($1.6 million+) coming from oil companies.

Once again, it seems members of Congress are listening to money and Big Oil over the people. Ā But the people are rising, with tens of thousands pledging just this week to resist the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, including — if necessary — pledging to participate in peaceful, dignified civil disobedience.

The question is who will the President, and his Secretary of State John Kerry listen to?

4 Comments

  • I would like any Nebraska Congress/woman/man or Senator to name job titles and specific number(s) of jobs that will be created in Nebraska. Temporary welders and laborers, period and when they are done in Nebraska, so go the jobs. The people that will be called to clean up the leaks and spills will not even be from Nebraska.

  • On behalf of my 8 grandchildren, resist the Climate Change game changer Keystone XL tar sands pipeline

  • Time is running out for OUR planet. The tar sands need to be shut down!! Not just for the people living on the Athabaska River who are dying, but also for the millions on the planet who will suffer from severe storms, rising oceans, and rising temperatures. Water, farmland, and fresh air to breathe are priceless! The tar sands will destroy these gifts only to put money in a few peoples’ pockets and be shipped to China! Please stop the insanity… from a worried mother in Canada.

  • Count me in. I am from Seattle and we’ll also be fighting Coal Trains hauling unimaginable quantities of coal all the way from eastern Montana across the Rockies, through the Columbia Gorge and through our cities to be exported to Asia. :-<

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