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Richard Pombo’s “Family and Friends Network”
Congressman abuses power at the expense of the environment
Victory! Richard Pombo was defeated November 7, 2006; Congressman Jerry McNerney took office on January 4, 2007.
U.S. Representative Richard Pombo is not a friend of the environment. He has long been on our radar as one of the most anti-environmental members of Congress because of his desire to kill the Endangered Species Act and eliminate environmental rules for property owners. These days, he makes the news because of his unethical travels, his attempts to sell our national parks to the highest bidder, or his efforts to open California’s coast to new oil drilling. Stories about Pombo serving the interests of his constituents are few and far between.
As the Chairman of the House Resources Committee, Representative Pombo is in a position to serve his district and the nation. Instead, he’s serving wealthy special interests. In fact, Representative Pombo has been abusing his position of power for the exclusive benefit of his corporate cronies and his family’s own financial gain. His radically anti-environment and ethically questionable agenda benefits his own family, his special interest friends in the energy and development industries, and the indicted former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay—at the expense of his constituents and the environment.
Rep. Richard Pombo’s Family & Friends Network, a new report released by CLCV and the national League of Conservation Voters, sheds light on Representative Pombo’s unethical behavior. (Read the report.) The report details how Pombo has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from oil companies, developers, and electric utility lobbyists; how he has promoted polluters’ biased and inaccurate propaganda on his official committee web site; and how he has pushed for legislation that would drastically weaken our nation’s environmental and conservation laws. At the same time, he has grown increasingly distant from the real environmental problems in his district.
Because Representative Pombo continues to neglect his constituents and attack the environment, now is an important time to draw attention to his abuses of power. Read the report and speak out.
