FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, May 10, 2023
CONTACT: Yael Sheinfeld, yael@congressionalintegrity.org
Congressional Integrity Project research shows GOP in pocket of Big Oil
Washington, D.C. – Ahead of today’s House Oversight Committee hearing designed to attack responsible investing, the Congressional Integrity Project released new research showing MAGA Republicans on the Committee have taken millions of dollars from Big Oil.
The new research reveals that, throughout their careers, House Oversight members have taken over $4 million from the oil and gas industry. Additionally, six House Oversight Republicans hold between $3.3 million and $22 million in oil and gas investments.
MAGA committee members used the hearing to attack environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices despite privately holding between $800,000 and $1.8 million in assets in ESG-linked investment firms.
The hearing comes on the heels of new polling showing only 8% of Americans think Congress should prioritize investigating how companies spend money on ESG issues.
“These MAGA activists have once again demonstrated how out of touch they are with the American people,” said Kyle Herrig, executive director of the Congressional Integrity Project. “They held this political stunt of a hearing to do the bidding of big oil and Leonard Leo, once again undermining their credibility and wasting taxpayer money.”
Judicial activist Leonard Leo has helped orchestrate the coordinated campaign against companies making climate-friendly investments through his organization Consumers’ Research. Consumers’ Research received nearly $6 million from Leo’s group DonorsTrust and already, the group has spent more than $4 million on an ad campaign targeting BlackRock for speaking out about the clean energy transition.
This week, the Congressional Integrity Project also launched MAGABigOil.com to highlight Republicans’ hypocrisy and launched a bike billboard to circle the Capitol Building during and after the hearing.
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