Koch Parrot John Barasso (#3 In Koch Money Sweepstakes) Squwaks Anti-EV Talking Points
This morning, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso published an op-ed in Fox News arguing for an end to the federal electric vehicle (EV) tax credit and a new “annual highway user fee for alternative-fuel vehicles.”
Barrasso, who cashed more money from Koch Industries in the 2018 election cycle than all but two other senators, and has taken in $45,400 from Koch Industries from 2013 to 2018, introduced a bill last October that would immediately amend the tax code to terminate the EV tax credit and calculate a new annual user fee for drivers of cars that aren't powered by gasoline or diesel. A similar bill was introduced at the same time in the House by Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady of Texas, a key Koch ally.
Besides the Trump administration's proposed rollback of fuel efficiency standards — which the Koch network and other oil and gas interests have been aggressively lobbying for — Barrasso's proposal reflects a top policy priority of the Koch network, one that would greatly benefit oil refiners and gasoline marketers who are desperate to keep American drivers coming back to gas stations.
If the Republican Senator's op-ed sounds familiar, it's probably because Barrasso repeats a number of talking points that Koch network representatives have been honing over the past year. For instance, Barrasso writes: “Every time one of these cars sells, the U.S. taxpayer must help pay for it.” Within just the past two months, we've seen some slight variation on this line in a number of opinion pieces and commentaries, all penned by beneficiaries of Koch cash. In December, Jonathan Lesser of the Manhattan Institute (which has received more than $2.6 million from Koch foundations) tried to paint the EV tax credit as “inequitable” in Investors Business Daily. A couple days later, George Landrith, president of Frontiers of Freedom (at least $335,000 from Koch foundations) and the Energy Equality Coalition, argued the same in The Daily Caller.
EDIT
https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/02/05/senator-john-barrasso-koch-talking-points-electric-car-tax-credit
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