Copyright, Truthout.org. Reprinted with permission. Click here to support Truthout. Authored by Sharon Zhang.
A new report unveils that a significant number of Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee — which oversees key issues like fossil fuel usage and land conservation — employ former fossil fuel lobbyists in top staff positions that could influence policy in coming years.
Watchdog Accountable.US released a report showing that seven Republicans in the House have oil lobbyists in top positions and legislative roles. Five of these Republicans sit on the Natural Resources Committee. The two others, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (Louisiana) and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minnesota), are in leadership positions for the caucus.
Perhaps the most egregious of these hires was made by Rep. Bruce Westerman (Arkansas), who is now the chair of the Natural Resources Committee. Westerman recently hired oil and gas lobbyist Nancy Peele, who in past years lobbied on behalf of fossil fuel companies like Taylor Energy Company LLC — a Louisiana company responsible for an oil spill off the coast of Louisiana that has been ongoing since 2004 — and Hornbeck Offshore Services, to allow the company to profit from oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico, like that of Deepwater Horizon.
