Rep. Perriello Testifies on Phony Pro-Coal Letters

Rep. Tom Perriello is testifying right now before the House Select Committee for Eneregy Independence and Global Warming. He's talking about the forged letters that were sent to his office by a firm working for the coal industry opposing the American Clean Energy & Security Act that passed the House in June. You can watch a live stream of his testimony here.

UPDATE 10:26am: Rep. Perriello says of the letter fraud, "This is a conscious level of forgery that's beyond what's seen in our politics today." Bonner & Associates has tried to claim they notified affected parties as soon as the fraud was discovered. However, investigations have shown Bonner discovered the fraud before the House vote, yet Rep. Perriello says his office wasn't contacted by Bonner until it had already been reported by the Charlottesville Daily Progress days later. More on that original story here.

"I just think this is the tip of the iceberg of the deception that Americans have been subjected to," says Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA). Rep. Perriello says the fraud has made it harder to know what his constituents really think -- which calls and letters are real and which have been ginned up by lobbyists?

Fortunately, Rep. Perriello put politics aside and voted his conscience on clean energy & climate action. "It looks to me like they picked the wrong guy to bully," says Inslee. If you have a few dollars to spare, don't forget to say thank you to Rep. Perriello for his courage. Let's hope Senators Warner & Webb take as firm a stand when the Senate votes on similar legislation in the coming weeks.

Newly-Revealed Forged Letter to Perriello Sets New Low

The Washington Post reports Congressional investigators have turned up yet another forged letter to the office of Rep. Tom Perriello. And this one sets a new low, even for polluters:

Congressional investigators today said they have turned up a 14th forged letter that was sent to a Congressional office criticizing the House's climate change bill, this one appearing to come from an American Legion post in Rocky Mount, Va.

The letter, sent to the office of Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.), asks Perriello to "make sure the Waxman-Markey bill includes provisions to promote American energy independence, while protecting already cash-strapped constituents from increases in electricity prices." It concludes, "Thank you for listening to concerns of vets in your district."

But the letter actually appears to have been faked by a Washington lobbying firm working for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a Congressional spokesman said today.

Forging letters from groups representing seniors and minorities was bad enough. But impersonating a group of veterans? Can polluters get any lower?

While we're on Rep. Perriello, yet another thanks for doing what was right. In the face of an intense forgery campaign by polluters, Rep. Perriello stood up and voted in favor of the American Clean Energy & Security Act. If you haven't given all your money to Rob Miller today, please donate to Rep. Perriello.