8chan/8kun QResearch Posts (2)
#1860147 at 2018-06-22 12:21:54 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2343: A City With No Children Edition
BAKER BAKER
"House lawmakers step up probe on green groups' international work"
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican lawmakers on Wednesday stepped up their scrutiny of environmental groups' work with foreign countries, requesting that the Center for Biological Diversity turn in a list of documents detailing their work with Japanese officials.
It was the third action that Representatives Rob Bishop and Bruce Westerman have taken this month to put a spotlight on foreign governments' relationship with green groups, who they allege can be used to influence U.S. policy or national security.
Bishop heads the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee and Westerman chairs the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
"The Committee on Natural Resources is continuing its oversight of the potential manipulation of tax-exempt 501(c) organizations by foreign entities to influence U.S. environmental and natural resources policy to the detriment of our national interests," they said in a letter to the Center for Biological Diversity.
Earlier this month they wrote to the head of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Rhea Suh, asking for details about the group's work with China on climate change and air quality issues.
Last week, the lawmakers sent a letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis asking him to provide information about environmental litigation against the military by U.S.-based green groups and its negative impact on national security.
Among the examples they cited was a lawsuit led by the Center for Biological Diversity that aimed to block the relocation of a Marine Corps air station in Okinawa, Japan because of its potential harm to a marine mammal, the Okinawa dugong. A court hearing on that case is scheduled for June 28 in a U.S. federal appeals court.
In Wednesday's letter to CBD President Kieran Suckling, the lawmakers asked for details about that lawsuit, as well as the group's work with U.S. politicians, press conferences they organized "and other publicity events in support of foreign anti-base activists, environmental groups, and members of the Okinawan government opposed to the U.S. military's presence."
"The Committee seeks clarification about the nature of CBD's advocacy work to influence U.S. environmental and natural resources policy in light of CBD's close relationship with Okinawan government officials and foreign environmental groups," the letter said.
A representative for the California-based CBD was not immediately available for comment on whether the group will provide the requested documents. But last week the group said in a statement the lawmakers were pursuing an "anti-wildlife agenda in search of a wild conspiracy theory."
The lawmakers asked the CBD for a list of documents to be turned in by June 27, including documents that would show whether the group registered as an agent of a foreign principal under the Foreign Agents Registration Act."
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-environment-congress/house-lawmakers-step-up-probe-on-green-groups-international-work-idUSKBN1JG204
#1656607 at 2018-06-07 04:33:45 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2083 Night Shift Signing In Edition
Republicans Target U.S. Environmental Group Over Connections to China
Group takes 'adversarial approach' to U.S., refrains from criticizing Chinese officials
Two senior Republican members of the House Natural Resources Committee have opened a probe into the Natural Resources Defense Council's connections to the Chinese government, indicating that the environmental group must register as a foreign agent because of its work to influence U.S. policy on behalf of Beijing.
"The NRDC's relationship with China has many of the criteria identified by U.S. intelligence agencies and law enforcement as putting an entity at risk of being influenced or coerced by foreign interests"
"It appears there's a double standard there, so one of the things that we want to find out is why they want to create one standard for the U.S. defense forces and U.S. industries and another standard for the Chinese"
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In a letter sent Tuesday to NRDC President Rhea Suh, Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R., Utah) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Bruce Westerman (R., Ark.) ordered the organization to turn over any documents related to its dealings with China.
The congressmen said the NRDC "appears to practice self-censorship, issue selection bias, and generally refrains from criticizing Chinese officials" when dealing with environmental issues that involve Beijing, while taking an "adversarial approach" to the United States.
They cited attempts by the NRDC to stop or curb U.S. naval exercises in the Pacific through several lawsuits that have accused the Navy of harming marine life with its anti-submarine warfare drills and use of long-range sonar. Meanwhile, the lawmakers say NRDC has been silent on Beijing's island building in the South China Sea.
"It appears there's a double standard there, so one of the things that we want to find out is why they want to create one standard for the U.S. defense forces and U.S. industries and another standard for the Chinese," Westerman told the Washington Free Beacon. "It gets back to a pay-to-play scenario-are they really looking out for environmental issues, or are they just trying to establish a foothold and are they willing to do what ever they can to keep that foothold?"
The lawmakers said the group might be in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people or organizations to disclose to the Justice Department when they lobby in the United States on behalf of foreign governments.
"The Committee is concerned about the NRDC's role in aiding China's perception management efforts with respect to pollution control and its international standing on environmental issues in ways that may be detrimental to the United States," the lawmakers wrote. "The NRDC's relationship with China has many of the criteria identified by U.S. intelligence agencies and law enforcement as putting an entity at risk of being influenced or coerced by foreign interests."
The letter cites a Free Beacon report on a classified CIA document detailing China's far-reaching foreign influence operations campaign in the United States, which imparts financial incentives as leverage to permeate American institutions. The FBI and Justice Department have raised similar concerns.
The NRDC defended its operations in China, the world's No. 1 emitter of greenhouse gases, as a necessary step to protect Americans "against dangerous pollution."
"As the most populous country on Earth, China has much to do with the kind of world the next generation will inherit, in our country and around the world," the group said in a statement.
Bishop and Westerman said the probe is part of a broader effort to hinder foreign interference into U.S. energy and environmental policy. NRDC has until June 12 to respond to their letter.
http:// freebeacon.com/issues/republicans-target-u-s-environmental-group-connections-china/