Senate Proceeding on Sep 25th, 2008 :: 0:18:25 to 0:48:28
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0:11:04 to 0:18:25( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Johnny Isakson

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Johnny Isakson: the best interest of the american people. let's make it in the best interest of main street. because after all and in the end, those are the people we serve, the ones that go to our banks, our savings

0:18:25 to 0:18:35( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: and loans, run our small businesses and are our next-door neighbors. they were the americans that we represent. they are the georgians that i represent. when i make the decision this weekend, it's going

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Speech By: James Inhofe
Bill: H.R. 7022: To reform the financing of House elections, and for other purposes

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James Inhofe: to be in the best interest of them, their children, and their lives. and i yield the floor. mr. inhofe: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senior senator from oklahoma is recognized. mr. inhofe:

0:18:43 to 0:18:54( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be recognized for whatever time issues in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. inhofe: thank you, mr. president.

0:18:54 to 0:19:10( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: leapt me first say that this has been a very difficult subject and i have the utmost respect for the senator from georgia. i, like him, am look forward to waiting and seeing a final product. i look

0:19:10 to 0:19:24( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: at what is there right now, and i do have concerns. i have concerns as, you know, who would asset managers be, what institutions would be involved, what types of assets. the fact, it would seem to me

0:19:24 to 0:19:37( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: as i read it, that as the $700 billion is paid down, other assets could be purchased. and i just wonder where it would end. and i'm hoping and i believe that they'll come in, some new heads and kind

0:19:37 to 0:19:50( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: of look at these problems and perhaps come up with something that will resolve looming problem that we are concerned with. mr. president, today my concern is on a different subject. it's one that's very

0:19:50 to 0:20:05( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: important to me as an american citizen, as the ranking member of the environment and public works committee. the situation i'm about to discuss reminds me of an old saying, "beware of wolves dressed

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James Inhofe: in sheep's clothing." today's so-called environmental movement can be described in much the same way campaigns to save a cuddly animal or protect an ancient forest are disguised efforts to raise money

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James Inhofe: for democratic political campaigns. take this ad for example displayed on the league of conservation voters, for the l.c.v. web site. this is l.c.v.'s standard text used to raise money for a nonprofit organization.

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James Inhofe: in turn, the l.c.v. takes these donations given to -- quote -- "save the environment" and then uses them to fund ads for democratic candidates such as bin lujan from new mexico. l.c.v., similar to other groups

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James Inhofe: i'll highlight later, disguises it is as an environmental group dedicated to saving the environment. yet as shown by this political ad, it is an extension of the democratic political party. in the

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James Inhofe: fall of 2004, i came to the senate floor to discuss this very topic. this report and my remarks today are an update of the 2004 report. over the last several months my staff has p considerae time and

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James Inhofe: effort into examining this deception. this examination has uncovered the tangled web of charitable and environmental organizations, phreupl campaigns and large foundation -- political campaigns and large

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James Inhofe: foundations. environmental groups are tax-exempt registered i.r.s. 501c charitable organizations. i think it is important people understand there's always confusion here. a 501-c-3 is not supposed to be a

0:21:49 to 0:22:04( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: political contribution. it is a contribution to a charitable organization. legitimately there are many of them out there that deserve the tax-exempt status that they have. these groups profess to be stewards of the

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James Inhofe: environment and solicit contributions from a variety of sources using these claims. but they demonstrate more interest in hyping extreme environmental scenarios to raise money for raw political

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James Inhofe: purposes than working toward actual real-world environmental change for the benefit of all americans. not surprising, given these deceptions, these nonprofit groups are tightly affiliated with and fund the

0:22:35 to 0:22:46( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: 501-c-4 lobbying organizations and 527 organizations. we all know that 501-c-4 organizations and 527 organizations are lobbying organizations that get involved in political campaigns. now, with these intertwined

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James Inhofe: organizations, it is extremely diicult to differentiate the source of funds and track their use. this problem is highlighted in a report prepared by my staff which provides preliminary examples based on

0:22:59 to 0:23:20( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: the five most politically active environmental groups. the report describes their activities, the foundations that provide their financial support and the interconnected web among these organizations. at

0:23:20 to 0:23:33( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: this time i ask unanimous consent to have the report inserted into the record at the conclusion of my remarks. my staff is not the first to uncover this sham. in december 19 of 2007, an article in

0:23:33 to 0:23:48( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: the "wall street journal" highlighted the very same problem, stating -- and i'm quoting now -- "because the i.r.s. doesn't require 501-c organizations to detail election spending or list contributors,

0:23:48 to 0:24:04( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: it's difficult to track their political activity." the journal analyzed data on 30 separate 501-c groups active in elections from 2000 to006 called from a -- culled from a variety of sources. the data -- this

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James Inhofe: is again "the wall street journal" -- showed that the 30 organizations spent at least $155 million on the 2006 elections, nearly twice what they spent in 2000. environmental groups have become experts

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James Inhofe: at duplicitous activity, skeurgt laws up to the -- skirting laws up to the edge of illegality and burying their political activities under the guise of nonprofit environmental improvement. this chart

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James Inhofe: demonstrates this interconnected enviro family affair of nonprofits and their benefactors. as you can see, the six organizations at the bottom of this chart are either 527 groups or political 501-c-4's.

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James Inhofe: let's take a look at the league of conservation voter, which is a poster child for this deceit. the l.c.v. is an i.r.s. registered 501-c-3. it's an organization where contributions to their -- are

0:25:03 to 0:25:19( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: tax deductible. however, contributors should understand that l.c.v. is a political organization affiliated with a 501-c-4 organization, a political action committee, and 527 organization. all three of

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James Inhofe: these are political. l.c.v. represents itself as turning sraoeufplal values into national priorities. and much of i want funds, even its 501-c-3 organization go to fund voter mobilizeation and education

0:25:35 to 0:25:47( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: drives. in each election cycle l.c.v. endorses political candidates such as -- since the 1996l.c.v. has published a dirty dozen list and bragged about its effectiveness in ousting candidates on the

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James Inhofe: list. not surprising, the list singles out all republican candidates, but they always throw in one democrat candidate -- just one -- to make it appear as if it is technically bipartisan. to date 83 names

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James Inhofe: have been placed on the l.c.v.'s dirty dozen, 74 of which are republicans and by bipartisan claims it would be expected that l.c.v.'s report would be split evenly. the publishers of the dirty dozen have yet

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James Inhofe: to name even a dozen democrats to their list of the last 12 years. in 2006, l.c.v. had two 527 groups -- the league of conservation voters, s.s.f., and the league of conservation voters incorporated,

0:26:32 to 0:26:51( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: s.s.f.-527-2. these 527 groups were fined by the federal election commission for three violations of the federal law. one of the violations was that the l.c.v. knowingly accepted individuals' donations in

0:26:51 to 0:27:31( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: excess of $5,000. l.c.v. collected over $6 million in donations during 2004 that violated the $5,000 individual maximum amount restriction. the ultimate fine was a total of $180,000 by the f.e.c. according

0:36:44 to 0:36:59( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: to an f.e.c. press release, l.c.v. received this fine for acting as a clear political committee and violating federal election law. "the wall street journal" highlighted these violations in an article

0:36:59 to 0:37:13( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: published in december of 2007. following this incident, the l.c.v. restructured its organization into a 501-c-4 which allows the organization to run with fewer disclosure restrictions. l.c.v. has a long history

0:37:13 to 0:37:26( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: of direct involvement in political campaigns. in 1996, l.c.v. spent nearly $1.5 million in ads focused on defeating its dirty dozen list targets. 11 democrats and -- oh, yes -- 11 republicans and

0:37:26 to 0:37:43( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: one democrat. in 1988, l.c.v. spent $2.3 million targeting its dirty dozen list of 12 republicans and, oh, yes, one democrat candidate. in 2000, the l.c.v. spent nearly $4 million, again targeting 11

0:37:43 to 0:37:53( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: republicans and 1 democrat on its dirty dozen list. and i can't forget that in 2000, the l.c.v. also endorsed al gore for president, clearly a political endorsement. in it 2002, l.c.v. once again targeted

0:37:53 to 0:38:08( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: 11 republicans congressional candidates and one democrat. mr. president, clearly there is a partisan pattern here. l.c.v. spends hundreds of thousands of dollars in congressional contests against republican

0:38:08 to 0:38:22( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: candidates. that same year the group undertook its strongest single effort to date, focused on my friend, senator allard who will be speaking right after me. the l.c.v. claims to have budgeted $700,000

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James Inhofe: for that race. we're talking about against incumbent senator allard from colorado, and hired a cpaign staff of 12 to coordinate phone banks and precinct walks. in addition, l.c.v. ran television and

0:38:34 to 0:38:47( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: radio advertisements against senator allard. of course, as we all know, senator allard won in spe of that. all together, the l.c.v. reported they spent $1.4 million in independent expenditures during

0:38:47 to 0:39:03( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: the 2002 election cle. of that total amount, l.c.v. spent $1.3 million benefitting democrat kapbdz tkats while -- candidates while spending $136,000 for republican candidates. that is the ratio we see consistently

0:39:03 to 0:39:14( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: through here of 10 to 1 to make it look as if it is not an arm of the democratic party. in 2004 the list contained 12 republicans is one democt. l.c.v. and affiliates spent a record total of $16

0:39:14 to 0:39:26( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: million during that year's elections targeting 13 candidates. as in previous years, the one democrat on the list retained his seat while four of the 12 republicans were defeated. for the first time

0:39:26 to 0:39:41( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: in 2004 the l.c.v. included a presidential candidate on the list. they endorsed john kerry -- again, all political. in 2006, the l.c.v. chose 15 candidates for their dirty dozen list. the list was comprised

0:39:41 to 0:39:55( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: of 13 republicans and two democrats. while the two democrats on the dirty dozen list retained their seats, nine republicans lost their seats. i think it's obvious what the effort was here. the

0:39:55 to 0:40:09( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: l.c.v. and its affiliates used its extensive budget of $27 million on campaign activities. in 2006, elections highlighted the intertwined political activities of l.c.v.'s and other groups. a coalition of

0:40:09 to 0:40:20( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: environmental organizations that included l.c.v. and the sierra club worked together in 2006 to defeat their top target, richard pambo, chairman of the hours resources committee, a republican.

0:40:20 to 0:40:34( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: the coalition invested $1.7 million in the race to defeat him. $1.7 million in one house race. and of course, they did. that figure alone is not startling enough, then look at this chart that shows

0:40:34 to 0:40:49( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: part of the sierra club press release that gloats of their activities in this house race. we see the sierra club invested $545,000 in this race and had $643,000 -- had 643 contacts with voters and sent

0:40:49 to 0:40:58( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: 397 pieces of mail just in this one race. at the time of this report l.c.v. had yet to release a complete version of its 2008 dirty dozen list. however, it has released the names of nine individuals who

0:40:58 to 0:41:10( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: will fill up the ranks of the completed list. of those nine there is one democrat joining the dirty dozen. i would be remiss not to mention that it looks like i will be on the list this your. it's

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James Inhofe: -- it should come as in surprise that for the 2008 presidential election the l.c.v. has endorsed senator barack obama for president. you know, as one individual be running, i'm sure there will be a

0:41:22 to 0:41:39( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: lot of money that will be in my race. and i think it's kind of interesting to, that in this day when we're all concerned with what might be happening on wall street and some of the people who have made huge

0:41:39 to 0:41:50( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: salaries and then turn around and have a defunct company, we see that the environmental defense fund, fred krup received a salary of $357,000, sierra club, karl coat, $207,000. so i'm hoping these

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James Inhofe: contributors know that not only are their contributions going to organizations that really don't -- aren't doing anything about the environment but are doing things, are paying very large salaries

0:41:59 to 0:42:11( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: to large staffs. now, while there is no means of calculating or anticipating what l.c.v. will spend this year as the budget has grown every election cycle and will most likely have $27 million

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James Inhofe: as they did in 2006. i think, actually, it will be more than that. l.c.v. is certainly not the only organization doing this. the sierra club, which describes itself as america's old of the, largest, and

0:42:22 to 0:42:38( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: most influential grass roots organization has a similar record of trickery. the sierra club foundation is a 501-c 3 tax-exempt with affiliated 501-c-4 group and a group called sierra club voter education

0:42:38 to 0:42:48( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: fund that claims to be a separate segregated fund of the sierra club. thsierra club foundation does not claim affiliation with this 527 organization. however, the sierra club voters education fund

0:42:48 to 0:43:02( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: does not have its own board of dectors, officers, or trustees. in 2006, the sierra club, the 501-c 3 organizations brought in more than $110 million and spent $104 million. the sierra club 527, the

0:43:02 to 0:43:17( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: sierra club voter education fund brought in $60,000 but managed to spend nearly $1 million. the sierra club has a history of endorsing candidates for political office and announced support of senator

0:43:17 to 0:43:27( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: obama's presidential bid. while there's no reported activity yet from the organization the sierra club has been known to run television and radio advertisements both supporting their candidates and criticizing

0:43:27 to 0:43:41( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: the opposition. very much active in the political process. at a time of this report the sierra club had announced its support of 13 candidates for seats in the united states senate. of those 13

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James Inhofe: candidates, none are republicans. the organization has also announced its endorsement of 156 candidates for the united states house of representatives. of the candidates, four are republicans, and 98%

0:43:54 to 0:44:06( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: of them are for democrats. another example, mr. president, is the natural resource defense council, the national resource defense council or the nrdc is registerd as a 501-c-3, tax-exempt funds

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James Inhofe: and supposedly not involved in political campaigns and affiliated with a 501-c-4 organization and a 527 organization, the environmental accountability fund. by having at least one of each category of

0:44:17 to 0:44:28( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: tax-exempt organization, these organizations can transfer wealth throughout their family of organizations and remain virtually undetected. in its 2006 tax filing, the natural resources defense council transferred

0:44:28 to 0:44:40( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: $98,800 to nrdc action fund and nrdc action fund transferred $124,000 to undisclosed other organizations that same year. founded in 1970 the nrdc purports to be the most effective environmental action

0:44:40 to 0:44:56( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: groups whose mission is to safeguard the earth, its people -- and i'm quoting -- "safeguard the earth, its people, animals and natural systems on which all life depends." doesn't say anything about political

0:44:56 to 0:45:07( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: campaigns. they claim to use grass roots effort and the power of legal and scientific expertise to achieve its goals which they describe frequently as "independent." from 2001 through 2005 the nrdc reported

0:45:07 to 0:45:21( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: on the bush administration by creating the bush record. the record categorized president bush's time in office as an administration that -- quote -- "will indicate are to industries that put america's

0:45:21 to 0:45:34( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: health and natural heritage at risk." the nrdc predicted that bush would continue -- quote -- "to undermine environmental enforcement and weaken key programs." the organization came up with the effort

0:45:34 to 0:45:46( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: and stopped tracking the administration's moves after president bush defeated senator kerry in the 2004 elections. kind of interesting they would make the statements like this about president bush. i

0:45:46 to 0:46:05( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: remember the clear skies legislation that was the largest reduction in pollutants of any president in the history of america and it was defeated by the democrats in the environment and public works

0:46:05 to 0:46:17( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: committee. my staff examined greece peace and environmental defense fund and found similar patterns of spending. greenpeace like other environmental activity orgtses has strong tie -- organizations has

0:46:17 to 0:46:27( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: strong ties with other political groups. the chairman of the board is involved with multiple organizations including the l.c.v. where he is a board member, and also is the founder of m plus r a campaign

0:46:27 to 0:46:43( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: strategy firm whose clients include environmental defense fund, l.c.v., and the democratic congressional campaign committee. greenpeace is also a client of earth justice, the legal entity that represents

0:46:43 to 0:46:55( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: the sierra club, the nrdc and the environmental defense club. additionally, greenpeace remains officially affiliated with the partnership project whose members also include the sierra club, environmental defense

0:46:55 to 0:47:07( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: fund, and l.c.v. and nrdc. greenpeace may not make a dirty dozen list and endorses hundreds of democratic candidates and is affiliated with it, the organizations that do it. it represents those affiliations

0:47:07 to 0:47:21( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: to the rest of the world. environmental defense fund describes itself as an organization -- and i quote -- "as dedicated to protecting the environmental rights of all people by using a scientific approach

0:47:21 to 0:47:33( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: that is 'nonpart dan, cost effective and fair' and is represented by its family of organizations," the environmental defense incorporated a 501-c-3 organization and a 501-c-4 organization. environmental

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James Inhofe: defense fund is also intimately connected with other environmental and political organization, trustee frank lloyd currently serves as one of senator obama's top environmental advisers for 2008 presidential

0:47:43 to 0:47:55( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: campaign. this past year, trustee douglas shoren stein donated $270,000 to democratic political objectives including the. mrs. clinton: and the al franken campaigns and joanne woodward wife of paul newman

0:47:55 to 0:48:06( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: donated significantly to both the clinton and obama campaigns. until 2006, theresa heinz, wife of senator john kerry served on the board of adf and is the current chairman of the heinz endowment, part

0:48:06 to 0:48:19( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: of the heinz family foundation, one of the 25 largest charitable foundations currently e.d.f. trustee george woodwell serves on the board of nrdc. e.d.f. reported raising $71.8 million for the 2006

0:48:19 to 0:48:28( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: calendar year. they reported receiving contributions totaling more than $94 million for -- during the 2006 irs -- i.r.s. filing period. they spent $18.9 million to promote stand on climate change issues

0:48:28 to 0:48:39( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: and 19.5 million collectively on land and ocean environment issues. in addition to the publicity professed alliances among the groups, they are all connected by the foundations that provide them with

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Speech By: Jeff Bingaman