End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the scope of the powers granted to the agency through the Clean Water Act:
“Today’s decision is the latest result of a decades-long lobbying effort by the fossil fuel industry to forestall action on climate change by pumping money into political campaigns and shaping the Supreme Court. Since Citizens United, the fossil fuel industry has spent over $775 million to elect Republicans and protect their profits at any cost.
“The court is captured by special interests, including Big Oil. We know the conservative justices lack the impartiality to make decisions in the best interest of the American people. Harlan Crow and Justice Thomas proved what we already knew: special interests and billionaires are currying favors with the conservative justices to get what they want. Today’s decision is yet another example of this court acting on behalf of their special interest backers at the expense of Americans.
“At a time when the majority of Americans are demanding more action to curb the impacts of climate change and protect the environment, the Supreme Court is yet again showing how wildly out-of-touch it is. Until we sever the ties between special interest money and the Supreme Court’s decisions–and implement tough ethics reforms–the radical conservatives will continue to side with monied interests that helped confirm them.”
Fossil fuel contributions:
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The fossil fuel industry has made over $1.4 billion in federal campaign contributions since 1990, including over $968 million since Citizens United.
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In 2022 alone, the fossil fuel industry made over $167 million in federal contributions, 79% of which went to Republicans.
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Fossil fuel PACs have given over $416 million in federal contributions since 1990, including over $238 million since Citizens United and over $30 million in the 2022 cycle alone.
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The fossil fuel industry spent over $273 million on lobbying in 2022 alone.
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