Real Koch Facts

Senator Shelby Gets Primary Boost In Exchange For Supporting Kochs’ Anti-Dodd Frank Agenda

March 1, 2016

It’s election day in Alabama and Senator Richard Shelby is facing a “tougher than expected” primary challenge. Luckily for Shelby — or, in return for his support of their selfish agenda — Charles and David Koch have been more than willing to chip in on his behalf.

Citizens for a Sound Government — a dark money group with Koch ties — has spent $413,000 in the Alabama Senate primary, including over $45,000 on ads praising Shelby. And 60 Plus Association — a Koch-funded “astroturf” group that purports to represent seniors — has similarly boosted Shelby. The group last week released a statement in support support for Senator Shelby, and FEC filings show that the organization has also spent money on telephone voter contact on Shelby’s behalf.

Why are the Kochs helping Shelby ward of his primary challengers? Because they know he’ll continue their selfish crusade to repeal Dodd-Frank.

The Kochs have been actively […]

On Its 5th Birthday, More Important Than Ever To Protect Dodd-Frank

July 21, 2015

Eyes on their profit margins, the Koch brothers have worked tirelessly against Dodd-Frank regulations — first pushing to stop their implementation and later lobbying to stymie its protections. Today marks Dodd-Frank’s fifth birthday, but the Kochs have yet to be deterred from their quest against this important Wall Street reform.

According to the Center for Public Integrity, the Kochs and their lobbyists “worked to favorably shape the bill, and have not stopped working since it was passed.” The Huffington Post reports that Charles and David “have assisted big banks in the lobbying blitz against Wall Street reform for years.”

As we’ve previously reported, it’s easy enough to figure out the reason behind the Kochs’ opposition: the brothers have made an uncounted amount over the years by trading in energy and other commodities on Wall Street. But Dodd-Frank clamps down on the speculative trading that can […]

Kochs’ Dream Come True Would Be Nightmare for Dodd-Frank

June 12, 2015

Hester Peirce, a fellow at the Koch-founded Mercatus Center, is in line to become a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Peirce’s seat at the table would give the Koch brothers a huge leg up in their fight against the Dodd-Frank Act, as her stance on the regulation falls perfectly in line with the brothers’ opposition to the reform. Never before have the Kochs had a federal agency commissioner in their pocket who is willing to do their bidding to protect their bottom line at the expense of consumers.

From the Financial Advisor:

As evidence of her conservative thinking on regulation, in testimony before a Financial Services Committee panel, Peirce criticized the authors of the Dodd-Frank Act for putting too much power in the hands of the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“Any pronouncement from the agency’s director has the appearance of being the agency’s official […]

Dodd-Frank and Wall Street Reform

Photo Credit: Patrik Ragnarsson

Out of an interest in protecting Wall Street from new regulations following the 2008 financial crisis, the Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity opposed the Dodd Frank Act from its inception. Once it became law in 2010, AFP then encouraged members of Congress to vote in favor of subsequent efforts to repeal the measure.

According to AFP, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau – an agency created by Dodd Frank and charged with protecting consumers from predatory financial products and services – is somehow “ill-named,” and thus the law should be repealed.

AFP’s concerns with nomenclature don’t stop there, with the group criticizing regulations surrounding banks’ “so-called systemic risk.”

#BetterWay is really just the #KochWay

June 15, 2016

Paul Ryan rolled out the economic portion of his so-called #BetterWay agenda yesterday afternoon. In what should come as a surprise to no one, the #BetterWay is nearly identical to policies long advocated by the Koch brothers. After paying brief lip-service to small businesses, Ryan and company launched into an anti-regulatory tirade aimed at the Kochs’ favorite targets.

As House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy took the mic, he quickly attacked one of the Kochs’ most hated pieces of legislation, Dodd-Frank. The Kochs’ worked tirelessly to favorably shape Dodd-Frank as it was drafted, and have been working to undermine the legislation since its adoption. Their motivation is perfectly transparent: Koch Industries is an active player in derivatives and risk management markets, the same markets Dodd-Frank seeks to bring to heel.

Majority Whip Steve Scalise turned his ire on the Department of Labor’s overtime regulations, claiming that they’re “directly responsible for […]

Kochs Investing In Their Down-Ballot Puppets To Preserve Legislative Influence

March 24, 2016

Sensing the threat Donald Trump’s candidacy poses to down-ballot Republicans, David and Charles Koch are renewing their focus on buying influence in Senate and House races. The Koch network is planning on directing their $900 million war chest to a spring offensive of ad campaigns targeting Democratic challengers and propping up Republican incumbents.

The Kochs motive for supporting legislative candidates is not based in altruism: they expect results. From Rob Portman’s support of policies that encouraged outsourcing and corporate inversions to Kelly Ayotte’s votes against increasing the minimum wage while voting to preserve tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil companies, The Koch’s politically corrupt quid pro quo requires unwavering support for their agenda in return for financial support.

The Kochs are investing heavily in their legislative insurance plan. No matter who wins the White House this November, the Kochs primary concern is protecting their hand-picked legislators as […]

Koch Groups Celebrate SCOTUS Blockage Of Coal Regulation, Gloss Over Significant Koch Role

February 11, 2016

It’s no surprise that the Koch brothers — prolific polluters and opponents of clean energy — are celebrating Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision to temporarily block an EPA regulation that “requires states to make major cuts to greenhouse gas pollution created by electric power plants.” Here’s how Koch front groups reacted to the news:

Americans for Prosperity‘s CEO applauded the decision in a statement: “We’re thrilled that the Court has acted in the best interest of the American people and state regulators.”
A Freedom Partners senior policy advisor wrote that the decision would “protect Americans from the EPA’s crushing energy regulations,” and that it “confirms that governors across the country were right to resist putting forth a plan that would pave the way for higher energy costs.
Koch-backed American Commitment President Phil Kerpen breathlessly tweeted: “This is HUGE. Means Obama CANNOT force states to cap emissions and make electricity prices necessarily skyrocket until court rules.” In a second tweet, Kerpen […]

With A Slate Of Koch Puppet Senators, National Rs Praise Trump: “He Can’t Be Bought”

December 3, 2015

In the bombastic NRSC memo that surfaced yesterday, national Republicans admitted that Donald Trump continues to be popular because “he can’t be bought” by billionaire special interest donors.

National Republicans even encourage their candidates to advance Trump’s traits, but there lies a big problem for the GOP — each and every one of their Senate incumbents and candidates is bought by the billionaire Koch brothers. Trump himself has mocked candidates who seek Koch backing as “puppets” and research shows when voters learn candidates are backed by the Kochs, it’s an immediate turnoff

The Kochs have put millions behind their puppet candidates — and plan to spend even more in 2016 — to ensure that those who do their bidding for them remain in the U.S. Senate. And the Kochs have made it crystal clear — they “expect something in return.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: : Already this cycle, the Koch brothers have spent […]

Who’s On The Kochs’ Shortlist For Speaker? Kevin McCarthy.

September 29, 2015

Whoever is elected to the next class of House Republican leadership will no doubt have to pass the litmus test administered by Charles and David Koch and commit to pushing their self-enriching agenda that’s good for billionaires like the Kochs and bad for middle class families across the country.

As Kevin McCarthy emerges as the top contender to be the next Speaker of the House, he’s no doubt positioned himself to be a Koch favorite to lead House Republicans.

The Kochs have been with McCarthy since his first campaign for Congress and contributed over $55,000 to his campaigns over the course of his career. And on issue after issue — from pushing deauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank to lifting the oil export ban, opposing Wall Street Reform, blocking environmental regulations, and more — McCarthy has been fully supportive of the Koch agenda.

While the GOP leadership infighting is likely far from over — […]

Pat Toomey Rakes In More Koch Ca$h

September 22, 2015

In the Senate, Pat Toomey has championed the Koch agenda at the expense of Pennsylvania, putting billionaire special interests and Wall Street ahead of Pennsylvania’s middle class and working families including fighting to repeal Dodd-Frank and opposing raising the minimum wage.

And now the Kochs are doing everything they can to ensure that Pat Toomey — and their other puppet candidates — get reelected because they can’t afford to lose those who do their bidding in Washington.

Revealed today, Charles and David’s political action committee cut Toomey another $2,500 check in August, bringing the grand total of Koch PAC cash that Toomey’s campaign has taken to $7,500 for the cycle and $18,000 over the course of his career.

That’s not the only Koch cash Pat Toomey has in his pocket. Since 2010, Toomey has received over $16,000 from the personal accounts of the Koch family.

But cash isn’t the only way the Kochs are propping up Toomey. […]

Kochs Attack CEO Pay Transparency Rule

August 17, 2015

It’s hardly shocking that the Koch brothers, long dedicated to disrupting, delaying, and preventing the implementation of Dodd-Frank regulations, are having a go at another Dodd-Frank rule.

Two weeks ago, the SEC adopted a Dodd-Frank CEO pay disclosure rule that would require public corporations to disclose “their chief executives’ total annual compensation as a ratio to their workers’ median pay,” as NPR described it.

So, the rule would promote corporate transparency, highlight income inequality, and conceivably lower CEO pay as corporations are exposed for contributing to the growing income inequality gap.

The least surprising news of — perhaps — all time?

Mercatus Center, a Koch-created, Koch-backed, and Koch policy-promoting think tank — where billionaire CEO of Koch Industries Charles Koch is a board member — opposes the CEO pay ratio disclosure rule and continues to lobby against it, even as its implementation proceeds.

In an opinion piece for Real Clear Markets, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center