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Read. Follow. Verify.Congressional Hearing on Oil Industry Climate Change Communication
Record date · January 1, 2019
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What This Bill Does
The House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held a hearing on October 23, 2019, to investigate allegations that the oil industry suppressed information regarding climate change. The hearing focused on how these actions may have impacted vulnerable populations and communities of color.
This hearing serves as a formal legislative inquiry into historical corporate communications, potentially influencing future environmental policy and corporate accountability standards.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Oil Industry
The industry is the subject of the investigation regarding its historical climate change communications.
Vulnerable populations and communities of color
The subcommittee is investigating how climate change denial campaigns have impacted these specific groups.
Key Facts
- The hearing took place on October 23, 2019, in the Rayburn House Office Building.
- Chairman Raskin entered several Exxon internal memos into the record, dated June 6, 1978, October 16, 1979, August 3, 1998, and October 13, 1997.
- An American Petroleum Institute Action Plan dated April 3, 1998, was entered into the record.
- The hearing examined the intersection of climate change denial campaigns and environmental justice for people of color and vulnerable populations.
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- Six witnesses provided oral testimony, including former industry scientists, academics, and policy advocates.
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceFull breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Focus on Environmental Justice
The hearing explicitly linked corporate climate communication strategies to the specific impacts on environmental justice for vulnerable populations.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.govinfo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy80Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment40Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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