House Oversight committee to subpoena top fossil fuel companies for documents

• The committee issued subpoenas to ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP America and Shell, as well as the American Petroleum Institute and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
• Lawmakers want to know whether and to what extent these top officials and their colleagues sought to mislead the public about the existence and severity of human-caused climate change, Axios' Andrew Freedman writes.

What they're saying: "I tried very hard to obtain this information voluntarily," Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said at the hearing.

• "[T]he oil companies employed the same tactics they used for decades on climate policy — delay and obstruction. Well, that ends today," she added.
• "We are at 'code red' for climate, and I am committed to doing everything I can to help rescue this planet for our children.  We need to get to the bottom of the oil industry's disinformation campaign."

Go deeper: Climate reckoning for oil and gas CEOs