The lobby generates resistance against the aff---empirically proven.
Alan Zibel ’21 [Alan Zibel is a research director at Public Citizen focusing on energy and environment issues. Previously, his research targeted corporate influence and conflicts of interest in the Trump administration. He is a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press, where he covered housing and financial regulation. “Big Oil’s Capitol Hill Allies: Oil-Funded Lawmakers Resist Biden’s Energy and Climate Plans,” Public Citizen; https://www.citizen.org/article/big-oils-capitol-hill-allies/]
Fossil fuel executives and oil and gas industry political action committees have poured millions into the campaigns of lawmakers now criticizing the Biden administration’s efforts to move the country away from fossil fuels and build a clean energy future.
Public Citizen analyzed campaign finance data for the 29 lawmakers in the nearly 70-member Congressional Western Caucus who issued a late January joint statement denouncing the Biden administration’s pause on new oil and gas leases. The analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics shows these 29 members received a combined $13.4 million over their careers from oil and gas interests and $23.6 million from energy and natural resources interests. These House lawmakers, all Republicans, include House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the second-ranking House Republican, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and lawmakers from such oil-producing states as Alaska, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico.
The analysis sheds light on the powerful forces opposing President Joe Biden’s decision to place a pause on federal oil and gas leasing on public lands and offshore waters. The move represents an opportunity for a broad reassessment of the U.S. government’s policies for allowing oil and gas drilling on federal lands and waters. After four years of an administration that dramatically expanded drilling on public lands and waters, and slashed public health, environmental and safety standards, these changes are essential and overdue.
Shortly after the Biden administration’s announcement, the Western Energy Alliance, a fossil fuel industry trade group, filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration seeking to overturn the oil leasing pause, Public Citizen’s analysis of political contributions shows the Western Energy Alliance contributed nearly $406,000 to House and Senate lawmakers over the past three election cycles. Of those contributions, 94%, or nearly $380,000, went to Republicans and 6% or $26,000 went to Democrats. U.S. lawmakers from Colorado were the biggest beneficiaries of the energy trade group’s largesse, receiving $60,500 over the past three elections. Arizona’s delegation received the second-most at $32,000, followed by Utah’s at $27,000.