Andy Harris: Big Oil’s Best Friend and Hired Gun

 Nearly $25-k Donated to His Campaign – Profiting from ExxonMobil Stock

Harris Energy Plan Promises More Pain at Pump, More Profits for Big Oil

Annapolis, MD – He takes their money, owns their stock and campaigns with their message. It’s almost like Big Oil bought, paid for and wrote the so-called “energy plan” for Republican candidate Andy Harris. In fact, it’s exactly like that.

“Andy Harris is delivering big oil’s message hook, line and exploding profit margins. He has Big Oil and their money in his wallet at a time when Big Oil is putting the squeeze on ours,” says Quincey Gamble, Executive Director of the Maryland Democratic Party. “It’s like Harris is mouthing the words he’s been told to say – words that pander but provide no real relief on gas prices now or in the future.”

In this quarter alone the Harris campaign coffers have swelled with $1,000 donations from the corporate political action committees set up by Chevron, Marathon Oil Company and Halliburton. ExxonMobil – in which Harris owns stock worth as much as $15,000 - sent in another $5,000. The ExxonMobil PAC has given a total of $10,000 to Andy Harris in his quest for a seat in Congress.

Key to the so-called Harris “energy plan” is the easily dismissed ploy to provide a brief gas tax holiday. Senator Harris never actually introduced legislation on his “proposal” when he had the opportunity. At that same time, gas prices – and Big Oil company profits – were already skyrocketing. He never even formally requested a gas tax special session, either.

Regardless of his failure to act, the Harris proposal would have cost Maryland over 4,000 jobs when even his own allies – such as the Washington Times – say it would do nothing to reduce prices at the pump and only serve to inflate Big Oil’s profit margins even further.  

“Andy Harris is just pandering. Everyone knows he never took a single official action to provide any relief from high gas prices. No legislation. No official request.  Nothing but empty talk.” says Gamble. “That’s Andy Harris. To use a phrase borrowed from his big oil bosses in Texas and the White House, Andy Harris is all hat and no cattle.”  

From: FEC Reports

Congressional Candidate Andy Harris

Corporate Oil PAC Donors
Exxon Mobil PAC - $10,000
Chevron Corp PAC - $2,000

Lyondell Chemical Company (refineries) - $3,500
Halliburton - $2,000
Devon Energy Corp - $1,000
Marathon Oil Company PAC - $1,000

Big Oil - Individual
Keith McMahan, Executive Tri Gas and Oil - $1,200
Martin Gibson, Patton Boggs LLP (Lawyer, Shell Oil and others) - $750
Howard Bowen, President/CEO of Ewing Oil Co. - $2,300

Richard Clark, Clark's Petroleum Service – Club for Growth- $350

Eric Zepp, BP Global – Club for Growth - $500

Total: $24,600