Could this be why our Gasoline Costs are so High Priced?

Oil and Gas: Lobbying Background

For Months I have been preaching about Dirty Energy Politics and quoting information I've been viewing from http://opensecrets.org yet for some reason I've not received many responses to the Article Posts on the Sustainable Building Blogs I operate http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com and http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com.

So with this post I've included everything from the open secrets web site in one easy to use point of reference. As you will see the various lobbying organizations are spending Millions of Dollars Influencing our Elected Leaders.

Do Dirty Environmental Polluters Speak For You?

They don't speak for me either.  So Join me in the battle to reduce Climate Change created by the Biggest Polluters and the Lobbying Organizations that buy off the Politicians in office.

Vote for DEMS

This industry, which includes multinational and independent oil and gas producers and refiners, natural gas pipeline companies, gasoline service stations and fuel oil dealers, has long enjoyed a history of strong influence in Washington. Individuals and political action committees affiliated with oil and gas companies have donated $238.7 million to candidates and parties since the 1990 election cycle, 75 percent of which has gone to Republicans.

Though former oilmen George W. Bush and Dick Cheney occupied the White House for eight years, the oil and gas industry could not win support for repealing bans on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. However, Congress voted in 2008 to lift a ban on offshore drilling. These companies are also wary of cap-and-trade climate change legislation, such as the measure Democratic President Barack Obama supports. Yet Obama still received $884,000 from the oil and gas industry during the 2008 campaign, more than any other lawmaker except his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Obama appeared poised to usher in more offshore drilling expansion in 2010 -- until the explosion of a BP-operated oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that resulted in millions of gallons of fossil fuels to leak into the coastal waters of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. The environmental toll has been significant, and industries such as tourism and fishing have suffered. Politically, the Obama administration has delayed plans to expand offshore drilling in many areas, and Congress is mulling whether to pass legislation aimed at avoiding another disaster of similar scope.

In contrast to former President Bush's largely pro-industry stance on energy and environmental issues, the Democratic-controlled White House and Congress will probably grant these companies fewer favors. Bush consistently rolled back Clinton-era restrictions on commercial uses of federal lands—including nature preserves, national forests and national monuments. To the oil and gas industry's delight, he got one step closer in March 2005 when Senate Republicans passed a budget resolution containing a filibuster-proof provision to allow for drilling in ANWR.
Oil and gas companies are always among the industries to spend the most on lobbying, pouring $132.2 million into these efforts in 2008 alone.
-- Aaron Kiersh and Dave Levinthal
Updated June 2010

Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.

Oil and Gas

Industry Profile, 2010

Total for Oil and Gas: $146,577,043
Total Number of Clients Reported: 195
Total Number of Lobbyists Reported: 788
Total Number of Revolvers: 500 (63.5%)
. Campaign Contributions from this industry

View totals by: Client/Parent | Subsidiary/Affiliate

Client/Parent	Total
ConocoPhillips	$19,626,382
Chevron Corp	$12,890,000
Exxon Mobil	$12,450,000
Royal Dutch Shell	$10,370,000
Koch Industries	$8,070,000
BP	$7,335,000
American Petroleum Institute	$7,300,000
Anadarko Petroleum	$5,150,000
Marathon Oil	$5,130,000
Williams Companies	$4,900,000
America's Natural Gas Alliance	$3,360,000
Chesapeake Energy	$2,776,560
National Petrochemical & Refiners Assn	$2,764,909
Occidental Petroleum	$2,582,989
Murphy Oil	$2,410,000
Devon Energy	$1,380,000
Apache Corp	$1,310,000
Noble Energy	$1,290,000
National Propane Gas Assn	$1,200,000
Independent Petroleum Assn of America	$1,185,774
Interstate Natural Gas Assn of America	$1,140,000
Sunoco Inc	$1,120,000
Hess Corp	$1,100,000
Spectra Energy	$1,083,509
El Paso Corp	$1,076,718
American Gas Assn	$980,000
Kosmos Energy	$890,000
Tesoro Corp	$870,300
Energy Transfer Equity	$850,000
Weatherford International	$840,000
Reliance Industries Ltd	$760,000
Petroleum Marketers Assn	$685,000
Valero Energy	$644,000
Gas Technology Institute	$625,000
Plains Exploration & Production	$600,000
Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition	$545,000
Transocean Inc	$540,000
Denbury Resources	$540,000
PDVSA	$470,000
TMT Group	$470,000
Enbridge Pipelines/Lakehead Pipeln Ptnrs	$440,000
Cobalt International Energy	$430,000
Hercules Offshore	$420,000
National Fuel Gas Corp	$400,000
Natural Gas Supply Assn	$370,455
Enbridge Energy Partners	$350,000
Halliburton Co	$345,000
Quintana	$300,000
Soc of Ind Gasoline Marketers of America	$300,000
Statoil ASA	$298,500
Gas Processors Assn	$270,000
Bass Enterprises Production	$270,000
Ansaldo Energia	$270,000
Doyon Drilling Inc	$265,000
Ad Hoc Deep Water Expl/Production Cltn	$260,000
Gas Natural SDG SA	$250,000
Domestic Petroleum Council	$240,000
Atlas Energy	$240,000
ATP Oil & Gas	$240,000
Nexen Inc	$240,000
Enterprise Products Partners	$236,000
Arctic Slope Regional Corp	$235,000
Magellan Midstream Partners	$232,385
Cheniere Energy	$230,000
Syntroleum Corp	$219,000
Anschutz Corp	$200,000
Frontier Oil	$200,000
Lansdale Co	$200,000
Hunt Consolidated	$200,000
Nicor Inc	$200,000
Oceaneering Intl	$200,000
CNX Gas Corp	$192,500
CenterPoint Energy	$190,000
BG Group	$190,000
EnCana Corp	$190,000
Kinder Morgan Inc	$190,000
Assn of Oil Pipe Lines	$184,400
Nabors Industries	$180,000
Helix Energy Solutions	$180,000
TransCanada Corp	$180,000
US Turkmenistan Business Council	$180,000
In Situ Oil Sands Alliance	$170,000
Industrial Safety Training Council	$160,000
Mitsui Oil Exploration Co	$160,000
Arrow General Supplies & Services Co	$160,000
AGL Resources	$160,000
Sinclair Oil	$160,000
American Public Gas Assn	$155,000
Nustar Energy	$152,500
ONEOK Inc	$150,000
Questar Corp	$150,000
Intl Assn of Drilling Contractors	$150,000
Michigan Consolidated Gas Co	$140,000
National Oilheat Research Alliance	$140,000
Southwest Gas	$140,000
National Oilwell Varco	$137,500
US Oil & Gas Assn	$129,195
XTO Energy	$120,000
Tellus Operating Group	$120,000
Gulf LNG Energy	$120,000
Countrymark Cooperative	$120,000
Gary-Williams Energy	$120,000
Ergon Inc	$120,000
Excelerate Energy	$120,000
Kern Oil & Refining Co	$110,000
Marion Energy	$110,000
Vulcan Energy	$110,000
Tidewater Inc	$100,000
Strata Production	$100,000
Hyperion Resources	$100,000
Hornbeck Offshore Services	$100,000
Seminole Energy Services	$100,000
Oilfield Services & Drilling Indus Cltn	$100,000
Gilbarco Inc	$100,000
Great Point Energy	$100,000
Alliance Pipeline	$100,000
CSA America	$90,000
Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Assn	$90,000
Vitol Inc	$90,000
Independent Petroleum Assn/Mountn States	$85,000
DaVinci Hourani	$85,000
Denali-The Alaska Gas Pipeline	$80,000
Enstar Natural Gas	$80,000
Falck Alford Services	$80,000
Energen Corp	$80,000
National Stripper Well Assn	$80,000
Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America	$80,000
US Oil	$80,000
NATSO	$78,973
Ohio Oil & Gas Assn	$70,000
Alon USA Energy	$70,000
Talisman Energy	$70,000
New England Fuel Institute	$67,000
Oil Oxidizer	$60,000
Aegean Oil & Environmental Corp	$60,000
Encore Acquisition	$60,000
Sigma	$60,000
Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition	$52,500
Colonial Pipeline	$50,000
Frank Reidy	$50,000
Alberta Energy	$50,000
Navajo Nation Oil & Gas Co	$40,000
Oil Shale Exploration	$40,000
QEP Resources	$40,000
Iroquois Gas Transmission System	$40,000
McDermott International	$40,000
Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority	$37,494
AES Corp	$30,000
BakkenLink Pipeline	$30,000
Western States Petroleum Assn	$30,000
Washington Gas Light Co	$28,000
Camelot Oil & Gas Development	$20,000
Alyeska Pipeline Service	$20,000
Green Earth Fuels	$20,000
DeepStar Project	$20,000
Mariner Energy	$20,000
NIC Holding	$20,000
UNEV Pipeline	$19,500
Trenton Fuel Works	$10,000
Western Independent Refiners Assn	$10,000
TORP Technology	$10,000
Texas Alliance of Energy Producers	$10,000
Northern Star Natural Gas	$10,000
Elkem Holding Inc	$10,000
American Assn of Petroleum Geologists	$10,000
Colonial Oil Industries	$10,000
Boardwalkd Pipelines	$0
Bradwood Landing	$0
C&C Technologies	$0
Cabot Oil & Gas	$0
Delta Petroleum	$0
Fleishman-Hillard Inc	$0
NSTAR	$0
Seven Seas Petroleum	$0
Petro-Hunt LLC	$0
Montana Refining Co	$0
National Assn of Shell Marketers	$0
National Cooperative Refinery Assn	$0
Independent Fuel Terminal Operators Assn	$0
Gulf South Pipeline Co	$0
Stanley Energy	$0

NOTE: All lobbying expenditures on this page come from the Senate Office of Public Records. Data for the most recent year was downloaded on January 31, 2010.

Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center.

Lobbying

Oil and Gas Lobbyist-Client

Total Number of Lobbyists Reported: 788*
Total Number of Revolvers: 500 (63.5%)

Download:

Lobbyist	Lobbying Firm/Registrant
Adcock, Michael W	Van Scoyoc Assoc
Addison, Daniel R	Patton Boggs LLP
Agnew, Richard A	Van Ness Feldman
Aguillen, Dean	Ogilvy Government Relations
Akins, Haley E	Dow Lohnes Government Strategies
Albert, Alex	McKenna, Long & Aldridge
Alfano, Holly A	National Assn of Truck Stop Operators
Allen, Kevin	Clark & Weinstock
Alperin, Janice	El Paso Corp
Amontree, Tom	America's Natural Gas Alliance
Anderson, Mark A	Kelley, Drye & Warren
Anderson, Mark Joseph	Kelley, Drye & Warren
Anderson, Rebecca L	Williams & Jensen
Anderson, Tobyn J	Lighthouse Consulting Group
Antelo, Cristina	Podesta Group
Archer, Bill	PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Architzel, Paul	Alston & Bird
Armstrong, James	Shell Oil
Atkins, Caroline	ConocoPhillips
Avery, Kevin J	Marathon Oil
Ayres, Merribel S	Lighthouse Consulting Group
Baer, Julian	Olsson, Frank & Weeda
Baierlein, Daniele	Podesta Group
Baird, Frederick A "Tripp" III	JC Watts Companies
Baker, George D	Williams & Jensen
Baker, Teal	Podesta Group
Bangert, Philip	Patton Boggs LLP
Barbour, Austin	Capitol Resources
Barnes, Ben	Ben Barnes Group
Barnett, Charles	Alpine Group
Barnette, James D	Steptoe & Johnson
Barry, Lisa B	Chevron Corp
Bates, Michael J	Prime Policy Group
Bayless, James L Jr	Winstead, Sechrest & Minick
Beal, Lisa	Interstate Natural Gas Assn of America
Beatty, Chris	KRL International
Beaudreau, David	DC Legislative & Regulatory Services
Beaulieu, Stephen A	National Assn of Truck Stop Operators
Becker-Dippmann, Angela	McBee Strategic Consulting
Beer, Michael S	Williams & Jensen
Beizer, Amy	Van Ness Feldman
Belair, Robert R	Oldaker, Belair & Wittie
Belcher, Leslie	Steptoe & Johnson
Bell, Michael J	Hogan Lovells
Bemis, Robert	Noble Energy
Bendall, Jennifer L	Eris Group
Benedict, Mark	Genesis Group
Bentzel, Carl W	DCI Group
Berman, Howard	Dutko Worldwide
Berman, Michael S	Duberstein Group

123456 ...17 Next

* Actual number of individual lobbyists. This number may be different from the total number of records as lobbyists may be associated with more than one lobbying firm.

Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center.

Interest Groups

Lobbying

• Overview
• Growth in Spending
• Top Spenders
• Top Lobbying Firms
• Ranked Sectors
• Industries
• Contracts
• Issues
• Agencies
• Bills
• Contributions
  • Lobbyist-Client Clusters
  • LD-203 Summary
  • LD-203 Search
• Search
• Methodology
• Influence Inc 2000

Revolving Door

PACs

Heavy Hitters

527s

Join open secrets on:

If these stats and numbers sicken your stomach as much as they do mine and you question as to why our Trusted Leaders are Failing to Listen to the Constituents and failing to enact solutions to the everyday struggles that "We the People" are going thru in our daily lives as we are struggling to fill the gas tank and heat/cool our homes.

Then you are perfect person for the  
St Louis 350.org Community

Join Me in the Fight Against The Biggest Polluters!

--

Scott's Contracting

Green Me UP-Scotty

scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/StLHandyMan
https://www.facebook.com/GreenMeUPScotty

Do Dirty Environmental Polluters Speak For You?

They don't speak for me either.  So Join me in the battle to reduce Climate Change created by the Biggest Polluters and the Lobbying Organizations that buy off the Politicians in office.

Sign up for "The U.S. Chamber Doesn't Speak for Me" campaign. Here's how you can help right now, in four easy steps:

1. Print out a few copies of this informational sheet and bring them with you next time you visit your favorite local coffee shop, restaurant, pet store or any other friendly local business.
   
2. Ask to talk to the business owner or manager, and let them know about the "U.S. Chamber Doesn't Speak for Me" campaign (talking points can be found here). Ask him/her make the declaration–be sure to collect contact information.
   
3. Visit chamber.350.org/declaration to log the declarations you've gathered from business owners.
   
4. Party Time! Celebrate your critical work in building a movement for clean air and clean energy by gathering your friends, family and neighbors for a potluck and meeting to plan the next steps for your local chamber of commerce campaign.

See, it's easy! Check out our toolkit for some tips on how to turn up the heat on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce by recruiting more businesses, local chambers of commerce, and even your state chamber of commerce to make the declaration.

Stay tuned for more action resources, and make sure to check back at chamber.350.org for more information in the coming days, weeks and months.

Thanks,

Phil Aroneanu

PS - Please take a minute to forward this email to anybody you think might be interested in the campaign -- especially any business owners you might know. I've pasted the original email below

-------------------------------

Dear Friends,

Together we've accomplished an awful lot in the last two years—we've built the first mass movement around climate change, with thousands of rallies around the country and around the world. We've put the basic science out where it can't be ignored, and built a coalition of poor and affluent people around the planet. If pictures are worth a thousand words, well, we've got a lot of pictures. But we're still losing the battle—more carbon is pouring into the atmosphere, temperatures keep setting new records, and our U.S. Congress still refuses to act.

So it's time to turn up the other kind of heat, the political kind. For many years, everyone has assumed that if we simply manage to communicate the problem, it will lead to action. It hasn't, for one simple reason: there's too much money in the way. A wall of money that separates politicians from the scientific truth that we're in a desperate crisis.

Big polluters spilled oil into the Gulf and lobbied to have American taxpayers clean up their mess, and those same industry groups are fighting tooth and nail to stop the EPA from protecting our air, water and atmosphere.

That's why we're going to spend much of this year taking on the single biggest source of that money pollution, the US Chamber of Commerce. They're not like your local chamber of commerce—they're essentially a front group for a few giant corporations.

Last year, just 16 companies provided more than 55% of their budget. They won't say who those companies are, but their attempts to derail the EPA and the army of lobbyists they've hired to kill the Clean Air Act are pretty clear indicators of where the money is coming from. (That's why we're working with our friends at 1Sky to hold rallies at congressional offices around the country next week.)

We know we can't shut off the supply of money to the US Chamber, but we can take their credibility down a few crucial notches.

That's why we need you to join us in declaring "The U.S. Chamber Doesn't Speak for Me"

Their power stems not just from money, but also from the perception that they represent, as they say on their web page, "3 million American businesses," a whole continent full of barbers and florists and mechanics. We need to show—before the next elections—that they don't. We need to show that most American businesspeople are ready for change, nimble enough to adapt and responsible about the future.

So here's the plan: This coming week, we need you to take a few minutes to visit your friendly local coffee shop, florist, barber, pet shop, or other local business, and get the owner to sign the declaration that the "US Chamber Doesn't Speak For Me." You can find talking points and other great tips here.

Once we've gotten enough small businesses on board, we'll ask local and state chambers of commerce if they'll officially end their ties to the US Chamber. Many have already done so; we're confident more will join in as this movement grows.

It's not a complicated plan, but we need your help. If you're a business owner or a member of a local chamber of commerce yourself, let us know, and we can help you challenge the U.S. Chamber effectively.

Join us at http://chamber.350.org

We've got other work on tap for this year too; we'll be rolling out more campaigns as the months go on. We will be working closely with organizers and partners to jumpstart community climate solutions projects and fight dirty energy in every corner of the country. With your help, we'll build local power in key places. But right now is the moment to start going after the deadly link between money and global warming.

Thanks for all you do,

Bill McKibben and the 350.org team

Scott's Contracting

Green Me UP-Scotty

scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/StLHandyMan
https://www.facebook.com/GreenMeUPScotty

Re: A new Meetup has been posted in the 350 of St Louis 350.org Community

Here are the details for "Let's meet in Saint Louis, MO":

When:
TBD

Where:
Provide a venue for this Meetup:
http://www.meetup.com/350/350-of-St-Louis/97166/t/bn1_l2/?ed=venue

Let others know about this Meetup! Send them to:
http://www.meetup.com/350/350-of-St-Louis/97166/t/bn1_l1/

Tag any tweets, photos, and videos with #350ppm.

--
Add info@meetup.com to your address book to receive all Meetup
emails

Check out Meetup Groups near you!
http://www.meetup.com/cities/us/mo/saint_louis/

--

Scott's Contracting

Green Me UP-Scotty

scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/StLHandyMan
https://www.facebook.com/GreenMeUPScotty

Re: Congress 2011-IT'S ONLY A DREAM

Subject: Congress 2011-IT'S ONLY A DREAM

Guest Post by: Russ Hacker

IT'S ONLY A DREAM

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified!  Why?  Simple!  The people demanded it.  That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.

I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message.  This is one idea that really should be passed around.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1. Term Limits.

  12 years only, one of the possible options below..

  A. Two Six-year Senate terms

  B. Six Two-year House terms

  C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

2.  No Tenure / No Pension. 

A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.  

3.  Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately.  All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. 

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.  Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.  

The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen.  Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career.  The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. 

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message.  Maybe it is time. 

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!! If you agree with the above, pass it on.

--
Regards,

Russ Hacker
913.593.3480 (cell)
rhacker3@gmail.com 

--

Scott's Contracting

cross posted

Green Me UP-Scotty

scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/StLHandyMan
https://www.facebook.com/GreenMeUPScotty