Poisoning The Air And Water-- For Fun And Profit: Today's Republican Party

For the past several years, we've been pointing out how Buck McKeon has a bunch of worthless relatives who work as lobbyists, where they can trade on his name for their personal enrichment. This week Legistorm.com released a list of congressmembers whose direct relatives are also lobbyists-- and McKeon was only the second worst. The title of worst belongs to career-long Florida career criminal John Mica who makes McKeon look like a piker. Mica has two shady brothers, Dan and David, working as lobbyists, plus a son, Clark, and a daughter, D'Anne, and, as if that weren't enough, a nephew, Paul and a niece, Julianne. All have the last name Mica and all make use of the powerful, 11 term right-wing patriarch of the family to rake in the clients and the cash.

Since the GOP took over the House, the House Science Committee has been a bit of a standing joke-- as though putting science-denying imbeciles and yahoos like Ralph Hall (R-TX), Paul Broun (R-GA), Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), Randy Weber (R-TX), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Larry Bucson (R-IN), and-- wait for it-- Steve Stockman (R-TX) is ho! ho! hilarious. On her show Thursday night, Rachel Maddow illustrated the danger. The video is up top; worth watching.


And, of course, it isn't all just fun and games for prankstering Republican leaders. There's a follow-the-money aspect too, of course. And yesterday, investigative journalist Lee Fang shared it on Republic Report.

For Chevron, the second largest oil company in the country with $26.2 billion in annual profits, it helps to have friends in high places. With little fanfare, one of Chevron’s top lobbyists, Stephen Sayle, has become a senior staff member of the House Committee on Science, the standing congressional committee charged with “maintaining our scientific and technical leadership in the world.”

Throughout much of 2013, Sayle was the chief executive officer of Dow Lohnes Government Strategies, a lobbying firm retained by Chevron to influence Congress. For fees that total $320,000 a year, Sayle and his team lobbied on a range of energy-related issues, including implementation of EPA rules under the Clean Air Act, regulation of ozone standards, as well as “Congressional and agency oversight related to offshore oil, natural gas development and oil spills.”

Sayle’s ethics disclosure, obtained by Republic Report, shows that he was paid $500,000 by Chevron’s lobbying firm before taking his current gig atop the Science Committee.

In recent months, the House Science Committee has become a cudgel for the oil industry, issuing subpoenas and holding hearings to demonize efforts to improve the environment. Some of the work by the committee reflect the lobbying priorities of Chevron.

In December, the Science Committee, now chaired by Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), held yet another hearing to try to discredit manmade global warming. In August, the committee issued the first subpoena in 21 years, demanding “all the raw data from a number of federally funded studies linking air pollution to disease.”

Though Chevron has gone to great lengths to advertise a lofty environmental record, the company continues to break air pollution laws while quietly backpedalling on its prior commitments to renewable energy. A Bloomberg News investigation reported that Chevron estimated that its biofuel investments would only return five percent in profits, a far cry from the fifteen percent accustomed to the oil giant, and quietly moved to shelve renewable fuel units of the company. In California, Chevron is battling the newly created cap-and-trade system for carbon pollution. And in states across the country, Chevron has lobbied and provided financial support to a range of right-wing non-profits dedicated to repealing carbon-cutting regulations, including the low-carbon fuel standard.

Earlier this year, Dow Lohnes’ lobbying practice merged with Levick, a public affairs firm.

Lee Rogers, one of the world's foremost experts on public health science, is running for McKeon's seat and he's already signaled which committee he want to be on: the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, which he feels isn't just a good fit for him, but a good fit for a district with a rapidly growing high tech industrial base. "Science," he wrote, "is present everywhere, making our lives better. Computers, cell phones, communications networks, batteries, food preservatives, microwaves, footwear, medicines, weather prediction, air travel, and countless other amenities we use on a daily basis are due to investments in science. I’m committed to renewing our investment in scientific research, including medical research and space exploration. We should prioritize our medical research on finding cures for terrible diseases like cancer or chronic expensive diseases like diabetes. Everyone of us knows someone who’s life was cut short by cancer or who’s lost a leg to diabetes. We should be making the commitment to developing cures. Our district is home to many industries that would benefit from an increasing interest in space research and travel. The United States must not cede leadership in space to Russia or China."

You can help Lee replace Buck McKeon and the party of science deniers by contributing to his grassroots campaign right here.