Campaign Launched to Force 'BP Ten' and Others in Congress to Give Up Dirty Oil Cash
Friends of the Earth’s campaign targets underlying problem that led to Gulf spill: the undue influence of oil companies in Washington
WASHINGTON - Today, as BP's CEO, Tony Hayward,
was set to testify about the devastating oil disaster his firm caused
in the Gulf of Mexico, the environmental watchdog group Friends of the
Earth launched a campaign to pressure members of Congress to unload the cash they’ve received from BP and other oil companies.
the last two election cycles alone, the oil and gas industries spent
$48,401,891 to curry influence in Washington. Congress has been
corrupted by this dirty money,” said Friends of the Earth’s president, Erich Pica.
“This corruption has inhibited the transition to clean energy and
produced the dangerous drilling policies that led to the disaster in
the Gulf. Each and every member of Congress who has accepted this
tainted money is part of the problem. All elected officials who have
taken oil money should turn it over to organizations doing recovery
work in the Gulf.”
has become so overwhelming that the ability of our government to
function in the public interest is now in question,” Pica added.
“Members of Congress need to make clear whether they think they’re
representatives in an oil-igarchy or a democracy. If they are committed
to democracy, they must give this money back, stop doing corporate
polluters’ bidding and start acting in the public interest.”
applies to all members of Congress who have taken oil money, but will
focus in particular on the five House members and five senators who
have taken the most money from BP in the last few years. They are being
urged to contribute the money to the Gulf Coast Fund to help the Gulf
region recover.
Coast Fund, to which Friends of the Earth is urging members of Congress
to direct the oil funds they have received, can be found at http://gulfcoastfund.org/.
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Friends of the Earth is the U.S. voice of the world's largest grassroots environmental network, with member groups in 77 countries. Since 1969, Friends of the Earth has fought to create a more healthy, just world.