Southern Co. funds Alaska senator big-time
BY Ken Edelstein • January 19, 2010
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s constituents live as far as you can get in North America from the stomping grounds of the Southern Co. But the Alaska politicias still is among the biggest beneficiaries political largess from the Atlanta-based parent company that owns Georgia Power.
Murkowski came under fire last week for gobbling up more campaign money from electric utilities during the 2010 election cycle — $157,000 — than did any of her colleagues. At the same time, she’s not coincidentally leading the charge for legislation that would block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from electric utilities.
It turns out that Southern Co. alone is among her biggest contributors. According to disclosures filed on OpenSecrets.org, Southern gave has given her campaign committee and leadership PAC $23,500 in the current cycle and $71,000 since the 2004 election cycle.
Murkowski even relied on a Southern Co. lobbyist to help write her proposed legislation, the Washington Post reported last week.
The New York Times says the Alaska senator may try to push her legislation in the form of an amendment as early as tomorrow:
Murkowski will have the opportunity this week to offer an amendment to limit EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases. It is unclear what the amendment would entail, or if the senator will decide to offer one when the Senate considers unrelated legislation to raise the federal debt ceiling as early as Wednesday. Her options include an amendment to prohibit EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other stationary sources.
The senator insists that unwieldy EPA regulations would cripple the U.S. economy. But critics say her judgment has been clouded by the cash she has received from electric utilities and other industries wary of EPA climate regulations.
Frank O’Donnell, president of the advocacy group Clean Air Watch, said that while he doubts that Murkowski’s efforts to handcuff EPA are entirely based on her campaign contributions, “it’s hard to avoid the impression that it’s a factor.”
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