Issues: Keystone XL Pipeline

U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “A Serious Threat To Jobs”

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s argument against Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin (D) distorts her record on health care, energy, and tax policy. The insurance-industry-funded Chamber attacks Baldwin for supporting a health care bill that included a public option, ignoring consistent popular support for the proposal. Baldwin’s opposition to the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy does not amount to raising taxes on small businesses (a claim the Chamber supports by citing a biased report on a flawed study commissioned by the Chamber itself). And, finally, Baldwin opposed Republican energy legislation that would have stymied efforts to make offshore drilling safer.

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Now Or Never PAC: “Radical Agenda”

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Now or Never PAC attempts to portray Heidi Heitkamp as a pro-Wall Street, environmental radical, who will “rubber stamp” President Obama’s second-term agenda, but the evidence does not support the group’s claims. After all, Heitkamp’s opponent has taken more than 10 times as much cash from Wall Street than she has — and over $600,000 total from the broader finance, insurance, and real estate sector. That makes Heitkamp’s $22,000 from lawyers whose clients include opponents of fracking look fairly insubstantial – especially when Heitkamp is on the record harshly criticizing President Obama on energy policy.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “It’s Time To Send Him Home”

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The U.S Chamber of Commerce argues Rep. Martin Heinrich’s (D-NM) voting record on energy is disqualifying, but its claims about cap-and-trade come from an industry-funded study that paints a much darker picture than the Energy Information Administration’s analysis. The ad’s claims about the Keystone XL pipeline and Heinrich’s party loyalty are also dishonest.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “Tim Kaine – No On Energy”

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In an ad attacking Gov. Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) positions on energy, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce suggests that Kaine opposes American energy exploration, is against the Keystone pipeline, and supports costly cap-and-trade policies. But Kaine has supported energy development plans, including offshore exploration, provided they are adequately reviewed for their impacts on Virginians and the environment. Meanwhile, Kaine’s stance on cap-and-trade – which would likely have little impact on family budgets — is that the threats climate change poses to Virginia’s families and businesses must be addressed.

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U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: “Martin Heinrich Has Gone Washington”

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A U.S. Chamber of Commerce ad attacks Senate candidate Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) over his votes against the Regulatory Accountability Act, against the Keystone Pipeline, for the American Clean Energy and Security Act, for Wall Street reform, and for the health care law. The Chamber implies that Heinrich’s votes killed jobs, created red tape, or harmed Medicare, misleading voters about the bills.

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Not So Slick: Conservatives Mislead On Gas Prices And Domestic Energy

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When an improving economy and recent instability in the Middle East pushed gasoline prices up from artificial lows caused by the recession, conservatives conveniently attributed higher costs to President Obama’s policies. In reality, the president has little control over the price of oil, which is traded on a world market, and neither increased drilling nor the Keystone XL pipeline would have much of an impact on gas prices. Despite conservative rhetoric about the president’s supposed hostility to the oil and gas industries, domestic oil production is at its highest in nearly a decade; there are more rigs in operation than any time since 1985; and American crude oil exports are the highest they’ve ever been.

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U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: “Congressman Heinrich Says He’s Standing For New Mexico Families”

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An ad from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce attacks New Mexico Senate candidate Martin Heinrich for allegedly voting to raise energy costs “by nearly $1,000 per year” and opposing “American energy exploration.” It’s true that Heinrich voted in the House for the American Clean Energy and Security Act, but nonpartisan experts concluded that the bill would have a minimal cost to consumers. Meanwhile, Heinrich’s “energy exploration” vote was against speeding up the process to restart drilling permits just a year after the Deepwater Horizon spill, when safety reviews were still being conducted.

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U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: “Michigan Needs Jobs And Fred Upton Has Been A Consistent Advocate For Policies That Create Jobs”

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An ad from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce relies on a set of unfounded suppositions about American energy in order to bolster Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Gas prices were high at the time of the ad, as the Chamber insinuates with images of a gas pump counting upward, but they’ve come down – and with oil prices set on the world market, there’s not much that increased domestic production could do to provide relief anyway. Upton does, as the ad claims, say that building the Keystone pipeline will create jobs and lower our dependence on foreign oil, but studies indicate that that’s not true. Claiming that Upton is “fighting the bureaucracy that is standing in the way of new American energy development,” the Chamber glosses over the fact that American crude oil production and exports are up under the Obama administration.

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American Energy Alliance: “Nine Dollar Gas”

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An ad from the American Energy Alliance (AEA) lambasts President Obama for gas prices that have “nearly doubled” since the start of his administration, but the ad’s claims rest on a series of distortions obscuring the fact that the president has little control over globally determined oil costs. Obama didn’t, as the ad claims, categorically write off Alaskan energy. A loan to a clean energy company has nothing to do with gas prices. Approving the Keystone pipeline wouldn’t bring energy prices down to pre-recession levels. Finally, Energy Secretary Steven Chu has recanted his 2008 statement about driving up gas costs, citing the recession and saying that “there are many, many reasons why we do not want the price of gasoline to go up.”

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