Two House lawmakers who voted against the omnibus energy bill have expressed concern that the Department of Energy (DOE) may be illegally using department appropriations to carry out a “coordinated grassroots lobbying effort” to cinch passage of the measure when the Senate returns in late January.

Reps. John Dingell (D-MI) and Henry Waxman (D-CA) raised the issue of the possible unlawful use of DOE funds in a letter last week to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. The missive followed a Dec. 13 report in the National Journal that the American Petroleum Institute, the American Gas Association, the Nuclear Energy Institute and other trade groups were readying a grassroots lobbying blitz in six states aimed at getting senators to reverse their position and support the energy bill.

The article further alleged the groups had met with DOE Deputy Secretary Kyle McSlarrow to discuss their strategies, and that DOE officials “stressed that they want to work with the lobbyists to ‘put pressure’ on lawmakers,” according to Dingell and Waxman.

“We are concerned that such activities may constitute an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars, quite possibly in violation of federal law, including the latest appropriations law under which DOE is currently funded,” the two Democrats wrote. “DOE’s current appropriations law specifically bans using department funds to influence congressional action on legislation.”

The energy bill ( HR 6) cleared the House in November, but was stranded in the Senate when Republican-led proponents were unable to find two additional votes to push the measure through. GOP Senate leaders vowed to pick up where they left off when they return for the second session next month (see NGI’s Daily Gas Price Index, Nov. 26).

Dingell and Waxman requested that Abraham turn over by Jan. 5 “all information necessary for Congress to understand the scope and implications of DOE activities in relation to HR 6 and to determine compliance with all applicable anti-lobbying requirements.”

This includes all communications (written, electronic or oral) since Nov. 21 about the energy bill between DOE officials and industry lobbyists, as well as information on any meeting between DOE officials and “any person outside of the executive branch” concerning the bill since Nov. 21. “We request that you immediately notify all DOE staff that they should retain all documents related to this issue, including e-mails and electronic files,” the two lawmakers said.

In a related development, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records relating to any efforts by DOE’s McSlarrow and other agency officials to coordinate a grassroots lobbying strategy with energy companies to secure passage of energy legislation. Such activity may be a violation of federal criminal law, the council said.

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