Steve Miller, president and CEO of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, told a House panel on Thursday that his organization never opposed climate change legislation passed by the House over the summer.
"Our organization has never opposed the Waxman-Markey bill," he said.
But a June 26 ACCCE press release clearly states that the "ACCCE cannot support this bill, as it is written, because the legislation still does not adequately protect consumers and the domestic economy or ensure that the American people can continue to enjoy the benefits of affordable, reliable electricity, which has been so important to our nation."
And some are asking: Did this fella just lie to Congress? The ACCCE did not immediately return a call from LobbyBlog.
Miller was testifying at a House Energy Independence and Global Warming Committee hearing on forged letters opposing the legislation sent to members of Congress by an ACCCE subcontractor. Committee chairman Ed Markey announced at the top of the hearing that the committee's investigation had found that even though the forgeries were uncovered days before the vote, the ACCCE did nothing to own up to them.
"The Coal Coalition was willing to pay millions to peddle a point of view, but they were unwilling to spend a few cents to call the U.S. Capitol and clear the air," Markey said. "This point of view was based on scare tactics and misleading figures and had zero to do with educating the public on key issues."
Media Matters pulled the video: