New TV Ad: What Republicans Say and Do on Clean Energy Go Together Like…Oil and Water
June 16th, 2010
New TV Ad: What Republicans Say and Do on Clean Energy Go Together Like…Oil and Water
Senate Republicans Say They Welcome a Clean Energy Future, Yet Just Last Week Voted to Cripple the EPA and Let Big Oil Off The Hook for Their Pollution
Click Here to View “Oil and Water”
***Download Broadcast Quality Version Here***
Washington DC– On the heels of the President Obama’s Oval Office speech calling on Congress to pass a “strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill,” Americans United for Change is up on the air with a new television ad today calling out Senate Republicans for saying one thing on clean energy legislation and doing nothing but the dirty work of Big Oil. See script below for “Oil and Water” which airs June 16-22 on MSNBC, FOX and CNN in the nation’s capital, and view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsPXSIz1wHI
Tom McMahon, Executive Director, Americans United for Change: “When it comes to grandstanding on America’s need for clean energy, the Grand Oil Party has it covered. But when it gets down to actually acting on a clean energy future, Congressional Republicans vote to keep us mired in the same old dirty energy policies of the past. Just last week, with $20 million in big oil money gushing into their campaign coffers, Senate Republicans voted to roll back the Clean Air Act and let big oil off the hook for their pollution. Like oil and water, the GOP’s clean energy rhetoric is not mixing very well with the reality of their votes to worsen the nation’s dependence on Mid-East oil by millions of barrels a day and put billions more dollars into the hands of our enemies. Amid the worst oil spill disaster in U.S. history, if ever there were a time for Congressional Republicans to clean up their act and get serious about clean energy, this is it.”
“Oil and Water” follows the $400,000 local TV ad campaign Americans United for Change launched this weekend holding Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Scott Brown (R-MA), and Rick Burr (R-NC) for voting for the Murkowski Big Oil Bailout – a reckless resolution put forward by oil state Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that would have crippled the Environmental Protection Agency, barring it from enforcing greenhouse gas emission rules under the Clean Air Act. Despite stark warnings from EPA administrator Lisa Jackson that the Murkowski resolution would “increase America's oil dependence by billions of barrels” and “would take away EPA's ability to protect the health and welfare of Americans from greenhouse gas pollution,” Senate Republicans stood unanimously on the side of the big oil interests that have given them nearly $20 million in campaign contributions -- voting to let them off the hook for their pollution. In a win for the American people and clean energy, the resolution failed.
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Americans United For Change: Oil And Water |
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Date: 6/15/10 |
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Narrator: The Republicans, say they are committed to a clean energy future.
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In A Prebuttal To Obama’s Oval Office Address On Energy, McConnell Said “Republicans Are Happy To Have An Energy Debate” And Then Offered Rhetoric And No Solutions.“Republicans are happy to have an energy debate. Like most Americans, we support an all-of-the-above agenda that seeks to produce more American energy and use less. But while American livelihoods are in immediate danger, and we watch oil gush into our waters and wash up on our beaches, now is not the time to push ideology. It is time to fix the problem.”[McConnell, 6/15/10]
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Narrator: But last week every Republican voted to gut the clean air act and bail out big oil.
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Every Republican Voted For The Big Oil Bailout. In June 2010, the entire GOP Senate caucus voted for the Murkowski Resolution, which would’ve prevented the EPA from enforcing carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act. This includes a mandatory 1/3 reduction in carbon emissions from auto makers. [Vote 184, 6/10/10]
The Murkowski Resolution Would Ensure $47 Billion In Profits For Big Oil. “EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and the White House said the resolution would force the EPA to rescind the standards for emissions from future-model cars and light trucks it came up with earlier this year with the Transportation Department. The result, she said, would be a need for the country to consume an extra 455 million barrels of oil.” The lifespan of a vehicle is 12-13 years. The EIA projects that the average crude oil price between 2012 and 2025 is $102.19 per barrel. By multiplying the total barrels saved by the average future price of crude oil, yields $46,496,450,000 in revenue for the oil and gas industry. [NPR, 6/10/10; Reid, 6/11/10]
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Narrator: They claim to oppose government bailouts and then call on the taxpayers to pay for BP’s oil pollution of the Gulf.
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McConnell: “We Cannot Allow Endless Taxpayer-Funded Bailouts.”“A lot of smart people have thought about how to prevent a repeat of the kind of financial crisis we saw in the fall of 2008. We’ve heard plenty of ideas. But if there’s one thing Americans agree on when it comes to financial reform, it’s this: never again should taxpayers be expected to bail out Wall Street from its own mistakes. We cannot allow endless taxpayer-funded bailouts for big Wall Street banks. And that’s why we must not pass the financial reform bill that’s about to hit the floor. The fact is, this bill wouldn’t solve the problems that led to the financial crisis. It would make them worse.” [McConnell, 4/13/10]
Boehner Said That “The People Responsible In The Oil Spill – BP And The Federal Government – Should Take Full Responsibility For What’s Happening There.” “Today, following up on Donohue's comments, I asked Boehner, ‘do you agree with Tom Donohue of the Chamber that the government and taxpayers should pitch in to clean up the oil spill?’ His answer was straightforward: ‘I think the people responsible in the oil spill--BP and the federal government--should take full responsibility for what's happening there.’” [TPM, 6/10/10]
Republicans Have Repeatedly Blocked Attempts By Democrats To Vote On A Bill To Raise The Liability Cap On Oil Companies That Are Responsible For Oil Spills. According to The Hill, “this morning, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) objected to the legislation, arguing the $10 billion proposed cap was arbitrary. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) objected the last time the cap came up for a vote.” According to the Hill, “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday proposed a complete lift of any liability cap on economic damages paid by oil companies that are responsible for oil spills. Reid told reporters that a proposal pending before the Senate to lift the liability from the current $75 million to $10 billion is inadequate because the $10 billion figure is ‘too small.’ ‘We're told that the damage from the oil spill in the Gulf now is $14 billion already,’ Reid said, referring to the BP spill off the coast of Louisiana. ‘I'm for no cap.’ Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) have written the proposal to raise the liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion. Democrats tried to bring the proposal to a vote last week but were blocked by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).” [The Hill, 5/18/10]
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Narrator: Looks like what the Republicans say… and what they do… go together like… oil and water.
Tell the Republicans the time has come to stop talking about a clean energy future and start building one.
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Visual:Paid for by Americans United For Change |
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