January 20, 2011 09:10 PM UTC

GOP Pols Snuggle with Lobbyists

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• by: Gypsy Chief

Published on January 20, 2011 in Politico. Article by ROBIN BRAVENDER & DARREN GOODE

Top staff members for key House and Senate Republicans met in a closed-door session Tuesday with energy industry interests to work on strategy to handcuff the Obama administration’s climate change agenda.

With the backing of GOP caucus leaders, aides for House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) are seeking unwavering support from a host of industries for an all-out push to block federal and state climate rules.

More: Article GOP staff, energy lobby in close …

Related: EPA and the Congressional Review Act

The roster of those attending the invitation-only gathering is being kept under lock and key, though it is believed to include the American Petroleum Institute, National Mining Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and others.

Gardner said one of the reasons for running for Congress was to fight Environmental Protection Agency air-quality standards in the 4th. “I want to go out there and fight the EPA and tell them ‘You know what? You are not going to boss the state around.’ We have the right. It is the 10th Amendment and we are going to stand up for it,” he said in June 2010.

Source: Who Runs Gov

Photo Credit: AP