Another day, another lobbyist appointed to a Congressional position
Iraqi war vet and “Friend o’ the blog” John Waltz (pictured right) is running for Congress in Michigan’s 6th district against the pro-Big Oil, pro-Big Business, anti-environment incumbent Fred Upton. This is a good thing because, honestly, Upton is everything we do NOT want in a Congressional Representative.
Upton is the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Given his anti-EPA/anti-environmental protection position, him having this position of power is both ironic and frightening.
In a typical move for Upton, this week, he appointed a former Big Energy lobbyist to be the General Council for the Committee. From John Waltz’s website:
Happy Groundhog Day; Fred Appoints His ShadowMuch like Punxsutawney Phil, Fred Upton has promised us all a much longer winter today with his appointment of Washington DC super lobbyist Michael Bloomquist as General Counsel for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Who is Michael Bloomquist? Recently, he was the chief lobbyist for the American Natural Gas Association (ANGA). ANGA is an organization formed by Aubrey McClendon, T Boone Pickens, and other industry powerhouses who are pushing the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Fred’s committee, to provide them with billions of dollars in subsidies and deregulation by passing the Natural Gas Act.
As I have told you in the past, Fred owns millions of dollars of stock in the natural gas industry and he just can’t stop using his position as Chair of Energy and Commerce to make himself and his friends richer. Fred’s number one objective is to pass the Natural Gas Act which will put our nation’s transportation fleet on natural gas.
I believe that we need to continue to use our fossil fuels in combination with renewables like wind and solar. This will protect our environment and help break our dependence on foreign oil. Fred’s plan relies on dangerous hydraulic fracking to mine unproven reserves, and it will create a monopoly for him and his buddies — it will also likely create another financial bubble once the reserves are proven worthless and the environmental dangers are fully acknowledged.
It’s not just you and me that are upset with Fred about this shameless mad dash for cash; organizations representing the coal and oil industries have lined up against him as well and have funded a candidate to run against him in the August primary.
Want to help defeat Fred Upton? You can support John Waltz’s candidacy by making a donation HERE.
