And then there is Tom DeLay and his association with the Energy Czars. Mephisto
Republicans, but sparked a mini-scandal when it was revealed that
(TOM) DeLay allowed business lobbyists from the American Petroleum Institute to sit down with committee staff and actually help draft the legislation.
One of DeLay's pet peeves is government regulation, especially when it comes to the environment--a phobia that goes back to DeLay's days as owner of a Texas pest extermination company (see "The DeLay Chronicles," page 12). "I'm a free market nut," he says. Wont to call the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "the Gestapo," DeLay has pushed for repeal of the Clean Air Act, and in 1995 tried to slash the E.P.A.'s enforcement budget by one-third, adding a host of so-called "rider" amendments to appropriations
bills that would have devastated environmental protection laws. One of his special interest coalitions was called Project Relief, a huge alliance of lobbyists that poured more than $10 million into campaign contributions for congressional Republicans. But that campaign, which sought a sweeping rollback of U.S. health, safety, and environmental rules, not only offended dozens of more moderate, northeastern
Republicans, but sparked a mini-scandal when it was revealed that DeLay allowed business lobbyists from the American Petroleum Institute to sit down with committee staff and actually help draft the legislation.
From the article, "DeLay, Incorporated"
by Roberty Dreyfuss
texasobserver.org |
