It’s crunch time for funding the government and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is attempting to broker a deal with Senate Democrats that could get the oil export ban lifted — a top priority item for the Koch brothers going all the way back to 1975.
Ending the oil export ban has been on the Kochs’ to-do list since 1975 when Charles Koch heavily criticized the ban in a fundraising letter, writing that President Ford and other Republicans “were no better allies in the fight for free enterprise than the Democratic Party.” It was even part of David Koch’s 1980 vice presidential platform.
While the Kochs are desperate to finally check the oil export ban off and cash in, the billionaire brothers aren’t willing to budge on making any compromises.
In exchange for lifting the ban on oil exports, Democrats have proposed ideas for compromise, including “extending clean-energy tax benefits.” According to Politico, the Kochs are already adamantly lobbying against a deal that might boost wind or solar energy:
“We hope Congress will still consider lifting the crude export ban on its own merits, but not by burdening society with continuing subsides and corporate welfare,” Koch lobbyist Phillip Ellender wrote to lawmakers last week.
It’s hardly surprising that the Kochs are unwilling to compromise if it benefits clean energy. The brothers have already worked hard to hinder the solar industry, going as far as lobbying for more regulation for the industry. At the same time, they’re not demanding as part of the deal an end to the billions in subsidies that big oil receives and their company benefits from.
In addition to the Kochs’ critique of the deal, Republicans in the Senate have sided with the Kochs in expressing their dislike. Majority Whip John Cornyn isn’t interested in giving in to the Democrats’ “greedy” demands. And any GOPers who might consider compromising could face retribution from the Kochs in the form of a primary challenge.
So deal or no deal? Sorry, Mitch McConnell and Howie Mandel, the Kochs aren’t willing to budge at all if it might threaten their oil profits.