The Dirty Coal Caucus

Most Americans don't know about it, but a large group of Republicans in Congress has hatched a plan to increase government waste - and to do it for the sake of corporate profits. Their specific goal is to repeal a section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which reads:

"No Federal agency shall enter into a contract for procurement of an alternative or synthetic fuel, including a fuel produced from nonconventional petroleum sources, for any mobility-related use, other than for research or testing, unless the contract specifies that the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and combustion of the fuel supplied under the contract must, on an ongoing basis, be less than or equal to such emissions from the equivalent conventional fuel produced from conventional petroleum sources."

Let's break that down. The section of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 essentially says that the federal government is forbidden to buy fuels that produce more greenhouse gas pollution than ordinary fossil fuels. An exception is already provided in the present law for research and testing purposes.

That seems to make perfect sense. Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act prevents the government from using wasteful, inefficient, polluting fuels. Knowing what we know about global warming, it's essential that the government acts to reduce its carbon emissions. It's also important to reduce the use of inefficient fossil fuels because they release dangerous poisons into the environment, such as mercury, which can cause birth defects, developmental delays, severe disabilities and even death.

Nonetheless, a large group of congressional Republicans are trying to do away with this law. Led by Congressman Jeb Hensarling, they have introduced H.R. 5656 into the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 5656 would actually encourage the government to increase the amount of its greenhouse gas pollution, rather than reducing it.

Why would anyone support such a dirty piece of legislation? The sad answer is money.

There are a lot of big businesses that are trying to make big profits by selling the government what they call "liquid coal", a dirty kind of sludge that puts out even more pollution than conventional fossil fuels such as gasoline. They have taken the coal, and played around with it in order to sell people on the idea that it burns cleanly, when the plain facts are that this liquid coal is an extremely dirty form of energy.

H.R. 5656 implicitly acknowledges the very dirty nature of liquid coal technology - by seeking to overturn the requirement that the government only purchase fuels with greenhouse gas pollution that is not above that of conventional fossil fuels. If liquid coal were really clean, it would meet that requirement. The corporate authors of H.R. 5656 know very well that liquid coal is not clean. That's why they're seeking to open up a loophole as wide as a smokestack.

Lobbyists from industries related to coal-mining and processing will arrange for members of Congress who support the dirty coal technology of H.R. 5656. That's why so many Republicans in Congress have lined up behind Jeb Hensarling to co-sponsor the legislation.

The following are the names of The Dirty Coal Caucus, the members of Congress who have co-sponsored H.R. 5656. If you see the name of your representative in Congress on this list, make a telephone call through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and make a clear statement that you expect to see that co-sponsorship cancelled.

The last thing we need to see in Washington D.C. is more waste. Yet, that's just what the following members of Congress are supporting.

The Dirty Coal Caucus: