Gas $ Floods Congress
Area lawmakers receive $458,000
Morgantown Dominion Post
1 January 2012
By David Beard
The fracking industry has poured nearly $300 million into Congress
since 2001 — including lobbying and campaign contributions. Four
members of West Virginia’s federal delegation, including its two
freshmen, rank in the top 100 for industry contributions.
A report by the political advocacy group Common Cause — “Deep
Drilling, Deep Pockets In Congress” — says that “companies now
engaged in fracking” contributed $20.5 million to current members
of Congress from 2001 through June 2011, and spent $276 million on
lobbying during that period.
“These investments in public policy victories have allowed the
industry to ‘systematically exempt themselves from most major
environmental laws,’” Common Cause Executive Director Barry
Kaufman said, quoting an environmental organization called the
Environmental Working Group.
The spending comes from “upstream” fracking interests — companies
engaged in exploration and production.
The fifth West Virginia lawmaker came in at 113 among the 535
senators and representatives.
The Dominion Post contacted all five members, submitting links to
the report, excerpts and a list of questions. Three responded.
Their answers appear in a separate story.
Here’s how they ranked, based on a Common Cause review of their
Federal Election Commission finance reports:
No. 33: Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R, $144,603; $112,205 from
Political Action Committees, $32,398 from individuals associated
with the industry. Capito took office in 2001. She serves on the
Financial Services Committee and the Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee.
No. 61: Sen. Joe Manchin, D, $97,395; $26,498 from PACs, $70,897
from individuals. Manchin took office in November 2010. He is on
three committees, including Energy and Natural Resources and its
Subcommittee on Energy.
No. 64: Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D, $93,150; $51,500 from PACs,
$41,650 from individuals. Rockefeller took office in 1985. He
serves on five committees and chairs one — Commerce, Science and
Transportation.
No. 91: Rep. David McKinley, R, $66,550; $49,000 from PACs,
$17,550 from individuals. McKinley took office in January 2011. He
sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and its
Subcommittee on Energy and Power.
No. 113: Rep. Nick Rahall, D, $56,850; $34,500 from PACs, $22,350
from individuals. Rahall took office in 1977. He previously
chaired the Natural Resources Committee and is ranking member of
the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The top-ranked member is Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, with $514,945
in contributions. The top Democrat comes in at No. 4 — Sen. Mary
Landrieu, Louisiana, with $367,925.
Down at No. 437 is Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., with a lowly $200. All
the rest tied at No. 438 with no contributions from the upstream
fracking industry.
Common Cause is concerned that the expected economic benefits from
the shale gas industry — the Marcellus and Utica in this region
and other formations elsewhere across the country — will outweigh
any environmental concerns.
“The EPA is scheduled to publish new, preliminary findings about
the potential dangers of fracking in 2012,” the report says. “That
gives the natural gas industry a powerful incentive to increase
its political spending now in an attempt to shape public opinion
and the debate over fracking in Congress, as well as affect the
outcome of the 2012 Congressional elections.”
The report alleges that industry spending is targeting supporters
of the federal FRAC Act — Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness
of Chemicals Act — which would abolish the so-called Halliburton
Loophole that exempts the oil and gas industry from the Safe
Drinking Water Act, according to the senators that sponsored it.
The FRAC Act would require the oil and gas industry to disclose
the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing processes.
West Virginia’s new fracking regulation requires all companies
operating in the state to disclose their frack fluid additives.
And many companies are already doing so voluntarily at
fracfocus.org, a chemical disclosure registry operated by
FracFocus, managed by the Ground Water Protection Council and the
Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.
The study alleges that fracking money helped influence the 2005
vote that created the Halliburton Loophole. Capito and Rockefeller
voted for it, Rahall voted against it.
During the time span of the Common Cause study, spending has
increased dramatically. The report says contributions increased
from a total $2 million in 2001-’02 to $6.8 million in 2009-’10.
Lobbying money increased from $29.1 million in 2001 to a peak of
$144.3 million in 2009, dipping to $110.2 million in 2010.
Dollars in West Virginia
Common Cause published separate reports focused on the fracking
laws and federal lawmakers in Michigan, New York, Ohio and
Pennsylvania, but not West Virginia, although four of its
lawmakers fall within the top 100.
Study co-author Alex Kaplan told The Dominion Post that the study
was limited to upstream money.
It didn’t look at contributions from midstream or downstream
sources — the companies involved in piping and distributing
natural gas.
For a limited glimpse at what downstream and midstream companies,
and individuals associated with them, are spending on West
Virginia’s delegation, The Dominion Post looked at their two most
recent FEC financial reports — July and October 2011.
The review, not intended to be definitive, included companies with
a known or apparent interest in the natural gas industry —
including utilities with natural gas plants and several law firms
known to represent the industry — and their employees.
Here are the numbers:
Capito, $10,700. Total contributions for that period — individual
and PAC — were $460,331.
Manchin, $83,000. Total for the period: $1,028,480.
Rockefeller, $3,500. Total for the period, $301,500.
McKinley, $27,350. Total for the period, $470,465.
Rahall, $11,500. Total for the period, $247,062.