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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Waxman: 'All That Seems To Matter Is What Koch Industries Think'-- Expresses Dismay at High Level of Outright Science Denial Aimed at Protecting Polluter's Interests

By Brad Johnson
ThinkProgress
Mar. 7, 2011

Speaking at the Center for American Progress Action Fund today, House energy committee ranking member Henry Waxman (D-CA) railed against the toxic influence of Koch Industries on efforts to fight global warming. Waxman, who fought polluters to pass the Clean Air Act of 1990, is dismayed by the level of outright science denial among the Republican Party today, exemplified by their votes to slash and burn environmental protection, and the Upton-Inhofe bill to reverse the scientific finding that carbon pollution threatens public health:
It apparently no longer matters in Congress what health experts and scientists think. All that seems to matter is what Koch Industries thinks.

Watch a compilation of Waxman’s remarks:

“The new Republican majority has a lot of leeway to rewrite laws,” Waxman also said, “but they don’t have the ability to rewrite the laws of nature.”

Watch Waxman in action as Chair of the Energy Committee in 2008: EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson May 20 2008 dodges Chairman Waxman's questions, threatens to kick Darrell Issa out of the hearing room when he tries to get Johnson to answer a simple question, did he meet with the President (Bush) on specific regulatory rules before the committee.  This behavior demonstrates the power of the oil lobbyists to influence climate regulation.



These Arizona members of Congress have eagerly hopped on the climate science denier bandwagon.

ARIZONA
Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ-02): I have yet to see clear and convincing evidence that it exists beyond historical fluctuations. [source]

Rep.-elect Ben Quayle (R-AZ-03): Our planet has warmed and cooled since the beginning of time. [source]

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ-06): Told townhall participants that he was a skeptic on manmade global warming. [source]

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ): There are dramatic environmental changes happening in the arctic region – whether one believes they are man-made or natural. [source]