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Dishonest tactics on climate bill a disgrace

by Bryan Lentz

The Washington Post reported recently that congressional investigators uncovered yet another forged letter sent to the office of Congressman Tom Perriello (D-Va.), criticizing the House’s climate change bill. According to The Post, this letter was fabricated to appear as if it had come from an American Legion post in Virginia, when in fact it was drafted by a lobbyist which opposes clean-energy legislation.

As an Iraq War veteran and a state legislator, I object to the exploitation of the good name of our veterans and one of our nations’ most distinguished veterans organizations, especially to serve the interests of for-profit, special interest groups.

The very same day this falsified letter came to light, I joined with a real group of veterans, over 150 who had served in Iraq, Afghanistan and other theaters. We came from across the country to join former Senator John Warner in calling on the United States to end its dependence on dirty fossil fuels and take action to combat the national security threat of climate change.

As Senator Warner, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, put it: “Terrorism and insurgency are fed by famine, poverty and failing states. There is a direct link between famine, poverty and failing states and climate change.”

That is why we as veterans care about energy policy—it impacts our national security.

I traveled to Washington because I believe the Senate needs act on the Waxman-Markey bill quickly, and pass serious climate-change legislation this year. The dishonest tactics of special interest groups are despicable at all times. But when our nation’s security and the good name of real soldiers are put on the line in the name of greed and profiteering, it’s a whole new level of unacceptable.

The writer, a state Representative in the 161st Legislative District, is a Democratic candidate for the 7th Congressional District.

State Representative Bryan Lentz in Washington recently.

September 15, 2009 at 9:57 am

--Bryan Lentz

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