Dirtier Air, Dirtier Water, Courtesy of Joe Barton; Another Pro-Pollution Texas Politician

Hey Joe, Where You Goin' With That Bill in Your Hand?
Joe Barton leading GOP charge to push energy bill through House
Undaunted by repeated defeats, House Republicans are having yet another

go at crafting energy legislation that can make it through the Senate
while still preserving massive energy-industry subsidies and tax
breaks. This time around, they'll have a powerful ally in the new chair

of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas),
one of the few politicians who can rival President Bush himself as a
recipient of energy-industry largesse. Barton's carefully executed bid
to take the reins of this powerful committee -- which oversees more
than half of the legislation that moves through the House -- was backed

by the oil, gas, electricity, nuclear, coal, and chemical industries,
which have collectively given him $1.84 million since 1997, more than
any other House member. Since then he's hired a battery of industry
lobbyists to his staff, gearing up to, among other things, push his
long-held priorities of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

and indemnifying producers of the gas additive MTBE.


straight to the source: The Washington Post, Thomas B. Edsall and
Justin Blum, 14 Apr 2005


straight to the source: The Washington Post, Justin Blum, 13 Apr 2005