Dozens of Energy Orgs Ask Congress to Kill Bill They Say Would ‘Inevitably’ Lead to Carbon Taxes

Utah Rep. John Curtis

Dozens of energy policy and advocacy groups signed a Monday letter to Congress to express their opposition to a bill they say could be the first step toward carbon taxes or tariffs.

The letter urges House lawmakers to vote against the PROVE IT Act, a bill that has not yet been introduced in the lower chamber but is expected to be soon. The PROVE IT Act — which has already been introduced in the Senate — would have the Department of Energy (DOE) study the carbon intensity of goods, including aluminum, steel, plastic and crude oil, produced in the U.S. and the carbon intensity of products from other countries, according to E&E News.

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Weed Advocates Are Ramping Up Lobbying Efforts and Notching Wins

Marijuana legalization advocates are hiring more lobbyists and otherwise ramping up their efforts to influence drug policy on Capitol Hill.

The weed industry’s lobbying efforts increased significantly between the first and second quarters of 2023, rising from $1.04 million to $1.39 million. Cannabis Freedom Alliance, a coalition of groups seeking to end federal prohibitions on weed, recently hired the Bose Public Affairs Group to lobby Congress on marijuana reform issues, according to lobbying disclosures.

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Supreme Court Rules Against California Requirement That Exposes Non-Profit Donations

In a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court struck down a California requirement, pushed by Vice President Kamala Harris while she was Attorney General, that would force the disclosure of donations to various non-profits.

In an opinion siding with the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) and Americans For Prosperity (AFP), who both sued the state, Chief Justice John Roberts stated, “The government may regulate in the First Amendment area only with narrow specificity, and compelled disclosure regimes are no exception.”

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Commentary: Open Borders Oligarch Charles Koch Re-Emerges to Oppose Trump and ‘America First’

The billionaire financier Charles Koch abandoned the Republican Party in the age of President Donald Trump, but he has returned on a white horse following the disputed election to preach the globalist cosmopolitan doctrines that previously had turned the GOP into a national laughingstock.

Koch penned an op-ed for CNN last week in which he urged Republicans to support amnesty for illegal aliens. He framed it as if allowing illegal immigrants to break the law is the “one thing we should all agree on” across the political spectrum.

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‘Vindictive’ Americans for Prosperity Foundation FOIA Lawsuit Targets Conservatives Working to Repeal Section 230

The Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) against the U.S. Department of Commerce seeking access to communication records of conservative individuals and groups that are fighting to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Their FOIA request with Department of Commerce sub-agency, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) targets “emails,  text messages, and other communications from NTIA Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Adam Candeub, who was recently named to a senior position at the Department of Justice, and others.”

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