Friday, November 20, 2015

Senators who voted to block EPA regulations received 17 times more money from coal industry

Senators who voted this week to block the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan rules on average received 17 times as much money from the coal industry as senators who voted against the resolution, Miriam Marks reports for MapLight, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization that reveals and tracks the influence of money in politics in the U.S.

On Tuesday a pair of resolutions aimed at repealing the rules passed by 52-46 votes. Senators voting for the EPA rule-blocking resolutions received, on average, $75,802 from the coal mining industry, compared to $4,464 for senators who voted against them resolutions, Marks writes. "Thirteen senators received more than $100,000 from the coal mining industry between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2015." All 13 voted yes on both resolutions. President Obama has threatened to veto the resolutions. (Read more)

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