Friday, May 06, 2011

Being Friends with Oil & Gas

Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15) might complain publicly about high gasoline prices, but privately he is happy to accept the hefty contributions of the oil and gas industries. Stivers not only took $115,000 from the oil and gas industry, he also was a co-sponsor of a bill to remove regulations for drilling in our offshore waterways (H.R. 1230).  If you like dirty, filthy beaches, filled with dead, oil-soaked animal life, you can thank Stivers.

Steve Stivers continues to take money from oil & gas and his buddies in the banking industries, while he works to overturn regulations that protect the consumer and our environment.

The Huffington Post:

The chief sponsors of a bill to expand oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and open the coastal waters of Virginia for exploration have received more than $8.8 million combined in campaign donations from the oil and gas industry, a review of campaign finance records shows.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act by a 266 to 149 margin. The measure would force the federal government to conduct three lease auctions in those areas by June 2012. It is considered the first step in a GOP-led process to loosen restrictions on offshore drilling. Authored by House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), it faces a much closer vote in the Senate as well as the stated opposition of the Obama administration....

....A review of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics shows that the 67 co-sponsors of the act received a combined total of at least $8,887,000 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry during the course of their careers. For at least ten of those members, the oil and has industry was their biggest career contributor.....

Open Secrets (Center for Responsive Politics) has this information on Steve Stivers and his ties to big oil and gas:

2010 (Open Secrets) Stivers received from Oil & Gas Industry: $65,800
2008 (Open Secrets) Stivers received from Oil & Gas Industry: $50,000

Big oil and gas have given Stivers $115,000 in campaign contributions.  When you fill your tank up with gasoline, remember that those oil companies are making billions of dollars in profits to reward people like Stivers and others who are anti-regulations.