Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Press Release: What Lee Terry Doesn't Want You To Know About Corporate Lobbyists & The "Keystone Kickback"

For Immediate Release:
Contact: Randi Scott or Micayla Lee
Lindstrom for Congress
402-614-3844

What Lee Terry Doesn't Want You To Know About Corporate Lobbyists & The "Keystone Kickback" 

 Omaha, NE -September 27, 2011 - In Lee Terry's long career as a Washington politician he has generally maintained a low profile. That is, until the introduction of H.R. 1938, affectionately known to many Nebraskans as the Keystone XL Pipeline bill. What is it that has Mr. Terry so gung-ho about speeding up TransCanada's agenda? Is it TransCanada's facetious promise to create thousands of jobs for working Nebraskans? No, because the State Department estimates that any job growth would be minimal. 

In fact, the real reason that Lee Terry introduced a bill to expedite the Keystone XL Pipeline has little to do with serving ordinary Nebraskans, as numerous state and local officials - including Nebraska's governor - have questioned various elements of the pipeline project. It has everything to do with someone who is unequivocally beholden to corporate lobbyists and special interests.

As Mr. Terry's record indicates, he has taken tens of thousands of dollars in campaign kickbacks from special interests who are now lobbying on behalf of the Keystone XL Pipeline bill. These registered lobbyists and their corresponding contributions to Lee Terry over the last two election cycles include: the AFL-CIO ($1,000 during the 2012 election cycle), the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association ($7,500 during the 2012 election cycle and $10,000 during the 2010 election cycle), Chevron Corp.($1,000 during the 2012 election cycle and $4,000 during the 2010 election cycle), and Exxon Mobil ($7,000 during the 2010 election cycle). Lee Terry even took a $2,000 contribution during the 2010 election cycle from the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, which has since lauded him in a September 14, 2011 press release on the Keystone XL Pipeline for his part in pushing their myopic agenda. 
  
But the tainted trail of special interest money does not end here. Lee Terry has also received generous individual contributions from oil-industry executives over the last two election cycles: $2,400 from the chairman of the MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.; $1,000 from the president of Exxon Mobil; two $1,000 contributions from a Hunt Oil executive; a $1,000 contribution from the TexasUtilities Co.'s chairman; $1,000 from Roxanna Oil Co.'s chairman; $500 from the division director at Macquarie Energy. And the list goes on.  

Most revealing, however, are Lee Terry's incontrovertible ties to TransCanada, the corporation tasked with completing the Keystone XL Pipeline. As the record indicates, TransCanada employs four lobbying firms to represent its interests: Bryan Cave LLP,McKenna, Long, & Aldridge, TransCanada Pipelines, and Van Ness Feldman. Of these four lobbying groups, three have a direct or indirect association with the Obama administration and the fourth - Van Ness Feldman - contributed $2,000 to Lee Terry's campaign during the 2010 election cycle. In the presence of these cold, hard facts, Mr. Terry's recent dalliance with Keystone XL special interest groups, especially those groups linked to the Obama administration, should be substantial cause for alarm among Nebraska voters and conservatives especially. 


402-614-3844
P.O. Box 646
Boys Town, Nebraska 68010
info@lindstromforcongress.com
lindstromforcongress.com