Legislators Framing Climate Bills Hold Energy Stock
From WSJ
As Congress moves ahead with climate-change legislation touching almost every corner of the energy industry, a number of lawmakers shaping the debate have investments in companies that would be affected by the results.
Rep. Edward J. Markey (D., Mass.), one of the lead authors of a House bill that would favor alternative-energy sources, had investments of between $51,000 and $115,000 in the Firsthand Technology Value Fund at the end of last year. Three of the top 10 holdings in the Ohio fund are solar-energy manufacturers.
Texas Rep. Joe Barton, the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was paid between $2,500 and $5,000 by Carrizo Oil and Gas Inc. for oil exploration on his property in 2008. In April 2008, Mr. Barton also sold shares in Reliant Energy Inc., a Houston power-plant operator, and bought stock in EOG Resources Inc., which calls itself one of the largest independent oil and gas companies in the U.S. Mr. Barton is a strong advocate for the oil industry, and has opposed the limits on emissions of so-called greenhouse gases that Mr. Markey has advocated.
