Dear Scotty,
|
As the Deepwater Oil Disaster escalated last month, Senator Murkowski single-handedly blocked a Senate proposal to increase oil company liability in the event of a major spill.1
Now, she's focusing her attacks on the Clean Air Act in a resolution written by oil company lobbyists2 behind closed doors in back rooms. Worse still, her Dirty Air Act is coming up for a vote in the Senate tomorrow.
In other words, in the face of the unprecedented environmental catastrophe on our Gulf shore, Murkowski wants to take away one of the strongest tools we have to rein in oil companies and end our nation's addiction to fossil fuels -- on marching orders taken directly from the biggest polluters themselves. It's outrageous and we have to stop it.
Call your Senators and ask them to vote NO on Senator Murkowski's Dirty Air Act.
Your Senators can be reached at:
Senator Bond: 202-224-5721
Senator McCaskill: 202-224-6154
When you've made your call, please report it by clicking here.
Once you're connected, remember to tell the staff member you're speaking to that:
- You're a constituent.
- The Deepwater Oil Disaster is just further proof that we need to take action now to reduce our dangerous dependence on oil and dirty fossil fuels.
- Lisa Murkowski's "Dirty Air Act" is exactly the wrong approach. Your Senator must side with the American people, not the oil companies, and vote NO.
With oil still gushing into the Gulf, it takes a whole lot of gall to side with the oil companies and undermine the Clean Air Act -- which plays a crucial role in keeping our air and water clean and reducing the harmful effects of fossil fuels.
Murkowski has been trying to introduce her proposal for almost a year now -- and every time she's gotten close, our flood of phone calls, letters to the editor and more have stopped her. But under Senate rules, next week is her last chance -- and right now the vote count is too close to call, with dozens of Senators on the fence.
We need to shut down this big oil bailout once and for all. Please call your Senators and tell them to vote NO on Murkowski's Dirty Air Act. Then report your call here.
Thanks,
Dave Boundy
Campaign Manager
The Climate Protection Action Fund's Repower America campaign
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1. Jake Sherman, "Murkowski blocks oil liability bill," Politico, May 13, 2010. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37207.html
2. Juliet Eilperin, "Murkowski and her lobbyist allies," The Washington Post, January 11, 2010. http://views.washingtonpost.com/climate-change/post-carbon/2010/01/murkowski_and_her_lobbyist_allies.html
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Murkowski and her lobbyist allies
ReplyDeleteBy Juliet Eilperin
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is likely to postpone offering an amendment (pdf) next week that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The delay would give Democrats a little bit of breathing space on the politically sensitive issue of whether the Obama administration can take the lead on curbing greenhouse gases if Congress fails to act this year. Murkowski first attempted to offer the measure back in September, but as part of a leadership deal between the two parties, she had postponed the move until Jan. 20.
The maneuvering comes as The Washington Post has confirmed that two Washington lobbyists, Jeffrey R. Holmstead and Roger R. Martella, Jr., helped craft the original amendment Murkowski planned to offer on the floor last fall. Both Holmstead, who heads the Environmental Strategies Group and Bracewell & Guiliani, and Martella, a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, held senior posts at EPA under the Bush administration and represents multiple clients with an interest in climate legislation pending before Congress.
In an interview, Holmstead said of the Murkowski amendment, "I certainly worked with her staff" on the exact phrasing of the measure in September.
"I was involved," he said, adding that Martella also helped advise Murkowski's aides on the matter. "The line out of the White House and the administration was that the amendment would block the car and truck rule" setting the first-ever greenhouse gas limits on emissions from vehicles, which are set to become final in March.
Holmstead represents industry interests including Southern Company, Duke Energy, Progress Energy and the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council on climate matters, according to congressional lobbying registration forms, while Martella represents the National Alliance of Forest Owners and the Alliance of Food Associations on the same subject.
Murkowski spokesman Robert Dillon said the senator, who is set to return from Afghanistan Monday, has not made a final decision on whether to offer her amendment on Jan. 20, but her staff is presenting her with multiple options.
Some Republicans are worried the Democrats will offer a second-degree amendment to the measure which would codify the Obama administration's effort to limit any future greenhouse gas limits to facilities that emit at least 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year.
"The possibility of a second-degree amendment plays into our consideration into how to advance the EPA issue," Dillon said.
He confirmed that both Holmstead and Martella helped with the EPA amendment, but added, "Senator Murkowski and her staff write all of her amendments."
"What they offered was technical assistance," Dillon said, adding the senator solicited feedback from the EPA and Senate Democrats as well.
Emily Figdor, who directs the federal global warming program at the advocacy group Environment America, said the fact that Murkowski continues to explore different legislative options shows the uphill battle she faces in attacking EPA's Clean Air Act authority.
"Striking at the heart of the Clean Air Act isn't a popular thing to do," said Figdor, adding that as of last month Murkowski ranked as the top congressional recipient of donations from electric utilities.
And Frank O'Donnell, president of the advocacy group Clean Air Watch, said, "It's not a total shock that ex-Bush administration officials are ghostwriting for Murkowski on climate, though she ought to come clean and admit it so we can understand that big polluters are behind her initiative."
By
Juliet Eilperin
| January 11, 2010; 3:55 PM ET