MNpublius.com

The DFL with their second best headline of the season today, “Irony Alert: After Year of Not Paying Utilities, Utility Industry to Pay Coleman”:

Lobbyists who wrote 2005 industry-giveaway energy bill to reward Coleman at D.C. fundraiser today.

St. Paul (September 24, 2008) - Today, the utility industry is hosting a fundraiser in Washington, D.C. for Republican Senator Norm Coleman. The event is co-hosted by some of the key lobbyists involved in writing the 2005 industry-giveaway energy bill that Coleman supported. Coleman has already accepted $291,000 in campaign contributions from the electric utility industry.

Ironically, and as many Minnesotans remember, Norm Coleman did not pay
utilities for one year on his sweetheart housing deal with landlord and Republican operative Jeff Larson, in clear violation of the Senate’s ethics rules. 

Today’s fundraiser is not the first time that Coleman has met with the utility industry. As the Pioneer Press reported in February 2004, Senator Coleman had to apologize to the Senate Ethics Committee for accepting a $1,000 campaign check in his St. Paul Senate office, in an apparent violation of federal law. 

DFL Party Deputy Communications Director Frank Benenati released the following statement: 

“Coleman just can’t seem to help himself from skirting the law when dealing with the utility industry. First he makes a ‘rookie mistake’ by illegally accepting a campaign check in his federal office, then we find out he has violated the Senate’s gift ban by not paying his utilities for over a year. 

“If Coleman is serious about keeping clean, the utility industry is a crowd that Coleman might want to steer clear of. But based on his track record of supporting their special interests, we won’t hold our breath.”

How timely of Norm Coleman! Based off of this week’s stuff from the Coleman campaign, I’m not sure if Coleman is truly even aware that there’s a crisis going on.

Rest of the DFL press release after the jump.

Coleman Doesn’t Pay Utilities, but Utilities Pay Him
2004: Coleman Violated Senate Ethics Rule By Accepting Utility PAC Check In
Senate Office; Called It A “Rookie Mistake.” In February 2004, The Pioneer
Press reported, “U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., is regretting that he
personally accepted a $1,000 campaign contribution in his St. Paul office — 
a violation of Senate rules. Coleman posed for a photograph while accepting
the check Dec. 12 from members of the Minnesota Utility Contractors
Association. The photograph first appeared in the group’s publications and
wound up in a Capitol Hill newspaper this week. “The senator has directed
the staff to return the contribution,” Coleman spokesman Tom Steward said
Monday. “He takes full responsibility for what admittedly is a rookie
mistake. And he has also sent a letter to the Senate Ethics Committee,
saying he takes the appearance and perception very seriously, and
apologizing for the mix-up, and said it wouldn’t happen again.” [Pioneer
Press, 2/24/04]
Coleman Voted for 2005 Energy Bill that Industry Loved

Coleman Voted For The 2005 Energy Bill Loaded With $14.6 Billion In Energy
Industry Giveaways. In 2005, Coleman voted for the final version of the
Energy Bill.  According to CQ, the bill “includes $14.6 billion in tax
breaks for the energy industry over the next decade.”  According to the New
York Times, the bill “contained $2.6 billion in new tax breaks for oil and
gas drillers and a modest expansion of the 10-year-old ‘royalty relief’
program.  For the most part, the law locked in incentives that the Interior
Department was already offering for another five years.  But it included
some embellishments, like an extra break on royalties for companies drilling
in the deepest waters.”  [HR 6, Vote 213, 7/29/05
<http://mail.dfl.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.senate.gov/legisla
tive/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109%26session=1%26v
ote=00213> ; New York Times, 3/27/06; CQ, 12/30/05]

* Coleman Said 2005 Energy Bill Was “Great Bill For Minnesota.” At a
July 2008 press conference, Coleman said, “I voted for the [2005 Energy]
bill as did most Democrats, so I’m looking to debate Al Franken and say,
you’re against bio-diesel tax credits and wind energy tax credits, expansion
of nuclear?  And all those good things that were in that energy bill.  That
was a great bill for Minnesota” [Coleman Press Conference, 7/2/08]

Utility Companies Don’t Take from Coleman, but They Do Give
Coleman Has Taken Over $291,000 From The Electric Utility Industry - More
Money Than Any Member of Congress From Minnesota. According to the Center
for Responsive Politics, Coleman has taken $291,891 from the electric
utility industry since 2002. That’s more money than any other US Senator or
Representative from Minnesota. [Center for Responsive Politics, Senate
Contributions
<http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=E08&cycle=All&recipde
tail=S&sortorder=S&mem=Y> , House Contributions
<http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=E08&cycle=All&recipde
tail=H&sortorder=S&mem=Y&page=5> ]
Utility Industry Hosting Coleman Fundraiser Today. An email from the Coleman
campaign (copy available upon request) touted several “Last Chance Coleman
DC events,” including this one:
WEDNESDAY, SEPT 24 — WASHINGTON, DC  
5:30-6:30PM
Utility Industry Reception hosted by John O’Donnell, Alex Flint, and Tom
Kuhn
Edison Electric Institute,
701 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
$2,000 per PAC Host/ $1000 per PAC to attend

John O’Donnell, Director of Federal Affairs, Xcel Energy 

Top Xcel Lobbyist O’Donnell On 2005 Energy Bill: “We Like It.” In 2005, the
Rocky Mountain News reported, “Now that the national energy bill is close to
being signed into law, there are wide ramifications for Colorado, a state
with one of the nation’s fastest-growing coal and natural gas production.
The bill includes measures to improve investment in the power grid, develop
nuclear and clean, coal-fired power plants, and help utilities buy
pollution-control equipment. Nearly $9 billion is set aside for oil and gas,
electricity and coal companies, while about $5 billion will go toward
energy-efficiency and renewable-energy programs. And that has made some
happy, some unhappy. ‘We like it,’ said John O’Donnell, Xcel’s managing
director of federal government relations.” [Rocky Mountain News, 7/30/05]

2002: Coleman Said Xcel And Energy PACs Should Support Him Because He Agreed
With Them On Critical Issues. As Yucca Mountain emerged as an issue in the
2002 election, the Associated Press reported, “Prairie Island isn’t the only
pro-Yucca group contributing to Coleman. According to Political Money Line,
a web site that tracks campaign contributions, Coleman has so far received
$97,000 from energy political action committees - including $8,000 from
Xcel’s. “They should be supporting me,” said Coleman. “You should get the
support of somebody who agrees with you on critical issues.” [AP, 6/12/02]

* O’Donnell Was Xcel Lobbyist For Expanded Yucca Site In 2002, the AP
reported, “Because Xcel Energy will run out of storage space in five years
at its Prairie Island nuclear facility, the company is lobbying intensively
for the Yucca site. But Minnesota environmentalists worry that transporting
the waste will endanger communities along the route. “It’s a huge issue for
the company,” said John O’Donnell, a Washington lobbyist for Xcel. “We’ve
always thought of ourselves as sort of the point of the sword to open Yucca
Mountain,” because of the Prairie Island storage issue.” [AP, 6/12/02]

Tom Kuhn, Executive President, Edison Electric Institute

As EEI President, Kuhn Urged Expedited And Swift Passage Of 2005
Energy Bill. In 2005, “Declaring that the nation ‘needs an energy bill now
more than ever,” Edison Electric Institute President Tom Kuhn today urged
House lawmakers to expedite passage of comprehensive national energy
legislation in the new Congress. Testifying before the House Energy &
Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, Kuhn thanked the panel for
its years of effort to address the nation’s long-term energy needs, and he
underscored the urgency of the task ahead. ‘While we continue to talk about
energy issues, high energy prices continue to be a heavy burden on American
consumers and businesses,’ Kuhn said. “The most important thing now is for
Congress to move forward and finish the job as soon as possible.’” [Edison
Electric Institute, 2/10/05
<http://www.electricnet.com/article.mvc/EEI-President-Tom-Kuhn-Urges-Swift-A
ction-On-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO> ]

Alex Flint, Senior Vice President for Government Relations, National
Energy Institute
  
Flint Is A Prime Example Of Capitol Hill Staffer-To-Lobbyist
“Revolving Door.”  According to MSNBC, “In a move that appears to flout the
U.S. Senate’s Ethics Manual, a former Senate staff member has repeatedly
passed through Capitol Hill’s so-called “revolving door,” moving between
public jobs intended to help oversee and regulate U.S. nuclear firms and
lobbying posts in which he pushes the industry’s interests. As Congress eyes
legislation aimed at reining in lobbying excesses in the wake of the Jack
Abramoff and Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham scandals, critics say the case of
Alex Flint is a prime example of what’s wrong with current lobbying rules
and unlikely to be truly fixed by current reform efforts. Most recently,
Flint left his job as majority staff director for the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee, where he was a key player in legislation that
provided billions in subsidies to the nuclear industry, to become the chief
lobbyist for the industry’s largest trade group, the Nuclear Energy
Institute. Flint was hired for the Senate post in 2003 after spending
several years as a lobbyist representing a number of large firms with deep
interests in the nuclear power field, as well as the NEI. Flint’s boss on
the committee was Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., an unabashed booster of
the nuclear power industry who has received thousands of dollars in campaign
contributions from employees of the companies that Flint represents.”
[MSNBC.com, 3/22/06 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11845981/> ]

Flint Is NEI’s Chief Lobbyist. “Lyons, the NEI spokeswoman, agreed
that the one-year restriction “in no way … affects Alex from providing
behind-the-scenes assistance to others at NEI.” She added: “He’s our chief
lobbyist” and “he will be” directing other lobbyists. At NEI, Flint will be
representing nuclear interests under the auspices of an industry association
that has more than 250 corporate members in 13 nations. Based in Washington,
the institute has a staff of 132 and is governed by a board of 44 directors.
Its expenses in 2004 were about $34 million, according to IRS forms.”
[MSNBC.com, 3/22/06 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11845981/> ]

* Flint Previously Lobbied For Xcel Energy. According to MSNBC, “In
2001, according to Senate records, Flint set up his own consulting firm and
in 2002 garnered more than $400,000 in fees from Xcel Energy, Exelon Corp,
Cogema Inc. and CH2M Hill, all big players in the nuclear power industry. He
also registered himself to lobby for NEI in 2002, receiving less than
$10,000, according to Senate records.” [MSNBC.com, 3/22/06
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11845981/> ]

2005 Energy Bill That “Delighted The Nuclear Industry” Was Flint’s Key Focus
On Senate Committee. In 2006, MSNBC reported, “In 2003, Domenici again hired
his young protégé, this time for the Energy and Natural Resources post, a
role in which Flint commanded a staff of 30 and became “one of Washington’s
preeminent nuclear policy experts,” according to the NEI. The Energy Policy
Act of 2005 was a key focus of the committee’s work in Flint’s tenure as
staff director. Its provisions, which became law when signed by President
Bush last August, were labeled “The Best Energy Bill Corporations Could Buy”
by Public Citizen and delighted the nuclear industry.” [MSNBC.com, 3/22/06
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11845981/> ]

In Hiring Announcement, NEI Heralded Flint’s Role In Passage Of 2005 Energy
Bill. According to MSNBC, “In its press release heralding Flint’s arrival,
the NEI trumpeted the fact that “Flint was a key adviser to Sen. Domenici
during Senate consideration and passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.”“
[MSNBC.com, 3/22/06 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11845981/> ] 

-30-

Chair Brian Melendez, Associate Chair Donna Cassutt
255 East Plato Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55107 www.dfl.org
Phone: (651) 293-1200 Toll Free: (800) 999-7457 Fax: (651) 251-6325