Shannon Van Hoesen, Shannon.vanhoesen@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC - A new report released today by Senate Democrats on the Environment and Public Works Committee puts a dollar figure on the greed and corruption of the fossil fuel industry and the Trump administration. According to the report, fossil fuel interests and affiliated groups spent an estimated $201 million supporting Trump and allied Republicans through direct contributions and advertising, along with $19 million for the presidential inaugural fund. In return, the industry has received special treatment through the hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks, subsidies, and regulatory rollbacks.
The report, The Billion Dollar Deal: How the Fossil Fuel Industry Bought the Trump Administration, Cashed In, and Left Americans to Pay the Price, draws on investigations into actions by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and other federal agencies, as well as analyzing the finances of individual polluters.
Independent analysts cited in the report estimate that fossil fuel companies could receive approximately $190 billion in tax breaks and subsidies over the next decade from the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill. The report also highlights the administration’s rollback of federal climate and pollution protections– including the EPA’s decision to rescind the federal Endangerment Finding for power plants and vehicles – and efforts to block clean energy investments.
At the same time, the report documents the costs being shifted onto American families, including increased health costs from pollution, lost jobs from blocked clean energy investments, and increased energy prices.
In reaction, Sierra Club Director of Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy Mahyar Sorour released the following statement:
“This report elevates a troubling reality: while fossil fuel companies throw money at politicians to fulfill polluters’ wishlists, American families are left paying for an energy system that puts corporate profits ahead of public health. We are grateful for the leadership of Senator Whitehouse and Leader Schumer who are advocating for policies that hold polluters accountable, not a system that hands them billions in giveaways while weakening the safeguards that protect our air, water, and climate. Sierra Club is calling for greater accountability for oil and gas companies and for policies that protect communities, reduce pollution, and lower energy costs. It’s time to make polluters pay.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.