Schatz, left, and Whitehouse listen to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in 2019. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Brian Schatz are revamping their climate pressure campaign on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Why it matters: Dem climate hawks spent years pre-IRA trying to get the business lobby to care about carbon emissions. Now they're accusing the Chamber of greenwashing as the Biden administration finalizes climate regulations.
Driving the news: Having sent a series of letters last month, the lawmakers say they've gotten responses indicating that the Chamber's Task Force on Climate Actions has been "inactive for some time."
- They cite this — and the Chamber's opposition to climate disclosure and emissions regs — as evidence that the group is making a PR show out of climate change without doing anything.
- "I was suspicious about the extent to which [the task force] would influence the Chamber's behavior, but I never really contemplated that they were just bulls---ing us," Schatz told reporters during a roundtable this morning. "And that's what happened."
Reality check: Chamber spokesperson Matt Letourneau confirmed that the task force is no longer active, but said it was "convened regularly for several years to solicit input from across our membership."
- "Its workstream has been incorporated in our Energy, Environment, Climate and Sustainability Committee," he said.
Flashback: The Chamber, once a vocal critic of climate science, got more active on the issue around 2019 after lots of criticism from the Hill.
- It convened the task force and publicly said it supports "market-based" climate policy (read: carbon pricing).
- It opposed the IRA but did support some of its energy provisions, as well as the infrastructure law and the 2020 HFC phasedown.
What's next: Whitehouse didn't rule out a committee investigation or possible subpoenas for more information.
- Depending on how the election shakes out, this could turn from social media campaign to congressional probe.
