Koch Industries Spent $3 million to Help Get Pruitt Confirmed at EPA

New federal lobbying disclosure filings show Koch Industries Inc. spent more than $3 million lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill to push for the confirmation of Scott Pruitt to head the EPA.

The first-quarter public filing shows Koch Industries spent $3.1, the most the company spent on lobbying since the end of 2015. Filings were posted on the U.S. Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure Act Database.

They indicated Koch also used the money to lobby lawmakers to fill other positions at the EPA and the Department of Energy. Lobbying efforts were also made on issues such as the Clean Power Plan, carbon pricing and legislation on renewable fuel and corporate average fuel economy standards.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate who have targeted Pruitt since his confirmation say they were not shocked over the Koch filing.

“It’s no surprise that special interests would like to see him as our nation’s chief environmental officer, but the American people deserve an EPA Administration who will look out for all of us, not just the highest bidders,” said Sen. Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware. He is also the ranking member of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee.

In a statement, Carper accused Pruitt of having a history of siding with industry over his constituents when he was attorney general in Oklahoma. He also said Pruitt had raised millions of dollars from oil and gas companies.

Koch didn’t respond to a request for a comment but John Konkus, a spokesman with the Environmental Protection Agency said the industry lobbying is simply a part of a larger shift at EPA.

 

 

 

“Administrator Pruitt is working to end the past administration’s practice of picking winners and losers in the energy sector, so of course he’s getting support from organizations all over the country who want a clean environment and a strong economy,” he said.