GOP Proposal Would Grant Fossil Fuel Industry Immunity from Laws and Lawsuits
Bill would void attempts to hold Big Oil accountable for climate-related wrongdoing
WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers today introduced a proposal that, if enacted into law, would grant legal immunity from laws or lawsuits that seek to hold them accountable for climate-related wrongdoing. For over a year, the fossil fuel industry has been pushing Congress for legal immunity similar to what lawmakers granted to the firearms industry in 2005.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wy.) and Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah).
In response, David Arkush, director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program, issued the following statement:
“This legislation does one thing: shield corporate polluters from accountability for wrongdoing. Millions of Americans are feeling the pain from climate-related fires, floods, droughts, and other disasters that Big Oil predicted decades ago and has lied about ever since. Now the polluters want a get-out-of-jail-free card—and these Republican bill sponsors are rushing to throw their own constituents and all Americans under the bus for their Big Oil donors.”
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