Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011

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The Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011 is proposed by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), who describe the bill as "a sensible, narrowly crafted 'fix' to clarify that the Clean Air Act was never intended to be used to impose cap-and-trade by regulation." The bill seeks to prevent the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, under Republican control, is holding a hearing on Feb. 9, 2011 to discuss the bill, chaired by Whitfield, who has received $9,000 from Koch Industries since 2008. Koch operatives reportedly met with Rep. Upton on the first day of the 112th Congress to discuss such a bill. Upton received $20,000 from Koch employees in 2010, making them among his top 10 donors. Nine of the 12 new Republicans on the panel signed the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity “No Climate Tax” pledge that opposed any government action to reduce carbon dioxide pollution.

Among those the committee will reportedly hear testimony from include:

• National Black Chamber of Commerce president Harry Alford, who has received $425,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.
• Margo Thorning, vice president and chief economist for the American Council for Capital Formation, or ACCF. ACCF has received $215,000 from Koch foundations and nearly $1.7 million from ExxonMobil.
• Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, a large recipient of oil and gas money who has sued the Obama administration to end an offshore oil-drilling moratorium following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and has taken the EPA to court three times in the past year.
• Lonnie Carter, president of Santee Cooper, the largest single mercury polluter in South Carolina and the top consumer of mountaintop removal coal..
• Steve Cousins, vice president of Lion Oil, which ranks 27 on the list of top 100 facilities releasing chemicals such as nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and benzene into the environment.
• Peter Glaser of Troutman Sanders LLP, which works with the Washington Legal Foundation, whp has received $325,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

Articles & sources

SourceWatch articles

• Cato Institute
• Charles G. Koch
• Climate change skeptics
• David H. Koch
• Koch Family Foundations
• Meat & Dairy industry
• Oil industry
• Tea Party movement funding