Yesterday, on Meet the Press, Tim Russert asked Rudy Giuliani one unexpected question towards the very end of the interview, inquiring about the former mayor’s opinion on a House energy bill that would increase fuel efficiency in cars.
“That isn’t the way I think it should be done,” Giuliani said. “I think what we should be doing is developing the alternatives so it’s possible to accomplish that as opposed to just setting mandates and not having the support there for expansion of hybrid vehicles, expansion of biofuels, including ethanol.”
The answer wasn’t too big a surprise. The House energy bill was really quite strong, including the first increase in federal fuel efficiency standards in three decades, investment that encourages the use of renewable energy sources, and the roll-back of $13.5 billion in tax breaks for the five largest U.S. oil companies, redirecting the money into conservation and development of renewable fuels. It’s the kind of quality policy that leading Republican presidential candidates are supposed to oppose.
But there was a piece to the puzzle that viewers didn’t know during the interview — Giuliani’s law firm has been lobbying heavily on behalf of the energy industry to kill the energy bill. (via Energy Smart)
A lobbying blitz by some of the U.S.’s biggest utility companies is likely to strangle the most potent provision in energy legislation that’s making its way through Congress.
Southern Co., American Electric Power Co. and other producers hired top Washington lobbyists, including Rudy Giuliani’s firm, to help defeat a measure that would force them to boost electricity generated by wind, solar and other forms of renewable energy to 15 percent of the U.S. total by 2020. That’s up from less than 2 percent today, and is a move the industry says would cost at least $67 billion.
Giuliani’s spokesperson said the former mayor supports renewable energy, and that the $7 million his firm received from the energy industry had no bearing on his opposition to a quality piece of legislation.
It’s hard to imagine, but some skeptics find this hard to believe.
It’s an example of the ethical problems dogging Giuliani — and why his insistence on keeping his client list confidential is a controversy that needs to be resolved.
Pressed yesterday, Giuliani said he wouldn’t release either his consulting firm’s client list or his law firm’s client list, even though both may include companies, industries, and individuals trying to curry favor with a possible future president.
There’s also the question of whether Giuliani can separate his business and campaign interests. Amanda at TP noted that the former mayor continues to draw quite a bit of income from his law firm — and his law firm is drawing quite a bit of money from opponents of congressional efforts to improve the nation’s energy laws.
* Giuliani’s campaign has collected more than $400,000 from employees of companies in the oil, gas, and energy industries.
* In August, Giuliani spoke to “representatives of the coal industry at a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser…saying, ‘We have to increase our reliance on coal‘ in the future.”
* Scott Segal, a Bracewell lobbyist, “is director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, an industry group that focuses on air-quality issues and includes Southern Co., Progress Energy Inc. and other utilities.” Southern Co. hired Bracewell to lead the lobbying campaign against the Senate bill.
On MTP, Giuliani concluded, “Law firm clients, the ones that I’ve been involved with, I think have been discussed. I can’t say.” I can — they haven’t been disclosed, probably because they’re a source of ongoing embarrassment.