{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.shelby.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=f43929fd-a9a6-40cf-836e-baec729c4ee3", "Shelby Ensures No Taxpayer $ Used for War on Coal in AL", "2013-12-13", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Richard Shelby", "S000320", "www.shelby.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Shelby to Energy Dpt: Ensure No Taxpayer Funds Used for War on Coal in AL\r\n\u00a0\r\nWASHINGTON, DC, Friday, December 13, 2013 \u2013 Amid multiple media reports that the San Francisco-based Energy Foundation funded environmental groups waging a stealth \u201cWar on Coal\u201d in Alabama, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) today wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, requesting an accounting of taxpayer funds provided to these same groups through federal grants.\u00a0 The groups bankrolled by the Energy Foundation have disrupted several Alabama Public Service Commission hearings regarding utility rate structures under the pretext of protecting consumers in Alabama.\u00a0\r\n\u201cWhile independent organizations are free to spend their money and advocate in whatever manner that they wish, my concern is that some of the organizations now waging a war against coal in Alabama are also receiving federal funds in the form of grants from your department,\u201d Shelby wrote to Moniz.\u00a0 \u201cAccordingly, I ask that you investigate these organizations\u2019 use of the grant funding that they have received from your department to ensure that they are spending their federal grant dollars in accordance with the law and their intended purpose.\u00a0 I also further ask that you write back to me with your findings in this regard.\u00a0 To assist you in this undertaking, I have enclosed a letter I received from a group of my constituents more fully describing these concerns.\u201d\r\n\u00a0\r\nThe text of Shelby\u2019s letter to Moniz is below.\u00a0 A PDF copy is attached.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n***\u00a0\r\n\u00a0December 13, 2013\r\n\u00a0\r\nThe Honorable Ernest Moniz   Secretary   U.S. Department of Energy   1000 Independence Avenue SW   Washington, DC\u00a0 20585\r\n\r\nDear Mr. Secretary:\r\nI write to express my concern that federal grant funds awarded by the Department of Energy may have been misallocated to improper political advocacy by special interest groups seeking to undermine the coal industry in my home state of Alabama.\r\nRecently, it has come to light that these groups, who previously claimed to be operating at the behest of the people of Alabama, actually received millions of dollars in funding from the San Francisco-based Energy Foundation, which is a \u201cclean energy\u201d advocacy organization that is actively seeking to undermine our domestic coal industry.\u00a0 Not coincidentally, it would seem, these organizations have actively pursued the same anti-coal agenda in Alabama.\r\nAside from the thousands of jobs that the coal industry provides in my state, it is also instrumental in supplying affordable electricity to all of Alabama\u2019s citizens and businesses.\u00a0 The link between affordable electricity and economic growth and job creation is undeniable.\u00a0 Thus, it is of great concern to me when large out-of-state organizations seek to impose their detrimental agenda on the people of the State of Alabama.\u00a0 It is even more concerning still that these organizations could possibly be using taxpayer dollars to do so.\r\nWhile independent organizations are free to spend their money and advocate in whatever manner that they wish, my concern is that some of the organizations now waging a war against coal in Alabama are also receiving federal funds in the form of grants from your department.\u00a0 Accordingly, I ask that you investigate these organizations\u2019 use of the grant funding that they have received from your department to ensure that they are spending their federal grant dollars in accordance with the law and their intended purpose.\u00a0 I also further ask that you write back to me with your findings in this regard.\u00a0 To assist you in this undertaking, I have enclosed a letter I received from a group of my constituents more fully describing these concerns.\r\nI thank you for your time and attention to my request.\u00a0 Should you need any further information please feel free to call upon me at any time.\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\nSincerely,\r\n\u00a0\r\nRichard Shelby\r\nUnited States Senator", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.shelby.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=f43929fd-a9a6-40cf-836e-baec729c4ee3"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.5461559891700745, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}