Letter to Michael Hennigan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marathon Petroleum Corporation - Maloney, Rouda, Tlaib, and Whitehouse Probe Industry Influence Over EPA

Letter

Dear Mr. Hennigan:
We are seeking information and documents regarding your company's involvement in the
Trump Administration's efforts to degrade emissions standards for cars and light trucks and to
revoke California's waiver under the Clean Air Act, which allows the state to set its own more
protective emissions standards.
Based on testimony before the Subcommittee on Environment and comments filed in
response to the Administration's recent regulatory proposal, it appears that the oil industry--and
Marathon in particular--are driving forces behind the Trump Administration's decision to
weaken tailpipe emissions standards for cars and light trucks.
We are concerned that the Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule, a
rollback of the Obama Administration's "clean cars rule," reflects the undue influence of the
fossil fuel industry over the rulemaking process and raises serious questions about whether the
Trump Administration is endangering the health and safety of the American people for the sake
of higher profits for oil companies.
In addition, given the large number of tax exempt, non-profit organizations that appear to
have been activated in support of the oil industry's campaign to weaken emissions standards, we
have questions about the relationship between industry and these organizations, as well as
whether their operations are consistent with their tax exempt status.
Background on Tailpipe Emissions Standards
In 2012, the Obama Administration established a unified federal Corporate Average Fuel
Economy (CAFE) and greenhouse gas emissions standard for light-duty vehicles.
1 This action
was the result of extensive negotiations among the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the California Air Resources Board
(CARB), and the auto industry.
2
The standard was projected to increase average fuel efficiency to 54.5 miles per gallon by
2025, cut carbon pollution from cars and light trucks in half by 2025, and save American
families more than $1.7 trillion in fuel costs, or $8,000 per vehicle by model year 2025.3
In
January 2017, as part of a planned midterm review of the standard, EPA issued its Final
Determination upholding the clean cars rule.
4
However, in March 2017, soon after President Trump took office, EPA and the
Department of Transportation (DOT) announced their intent to review the Final Determination.5

In April 2018, EPA provided notice that that it was withdrawing the previous Final
Determination, stating that the standards were based on "outdated information" and announced
EPA and NHTSA would be initiating a notice and comment period to further consider
"appropriate" standards.
6

In August 2018, the Trump Administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for
the SAFE Vehicles rule, which would freeze Obama-era car emissions standards at 2020 levels.7
EPAS's own Scientific Advisory Board found "significant weaknesses in the analysis supporting
the 2018 notice of proposed rulemaking."

In September 2019, EPA announced its plans to revoke California's Clean Air Act
waiver, which has enabled California to set more protective vehicle pollution standards than the
federal government for almost 50 years.
9 This waiver has never been revoked.10
Last month, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump Administration
announced the final SAFE Vehicles rule, which was changed from a proposed freeze on
standards to an "increase [in]carbon dioxide emissions standards for the nation's automakers by
1.5% a year." These standards have been critiqued by experts as relying on "cherry-pick[ed]
numbers" and "messy" modeling.11
Reports of Oil Industry Influence
Since the Trump Administration announced its decision to reverse the Obama
Administration's rule, evidence gathered by Congressional investigators and journalists has
revealed that fossil fuel companies, as well as non-profit organizations with longstanding
financial ties to the oil industry, engaged in "an aggressive, multi-faceted campaign to get the
Trump Administration to weaken the standards."12
The oil industry has a powerful incentive to weaken tailpipe emissions standards. As
Senator Whitehouse testified during the Subcommittee's hearing on October 29, 2019:
While the fuel economy standards would have little effect on the number of cars sold,
they would affect the amount of gasoline sold. That $1.7 trillion saved by consumers is
lost oil industry revenue.13
Senator Whitehouse's testimony has been partially confirmed by the statements of Gary
R. Heminger, who at the time served as President and Chief Executive Officer for Marathon.
Mr. Heminger reportedly informed investors that the Trump Administration's proposed freeze
would reap an extra "350,000 to 400,000 barrels of gasoline per day" for the oil industry.
In addition, the New York Times reported that Marathon "worked with powerful oilindustry groups and a conservative policy network financed by the billionaire industrialist
Charles G. Koch to run a stealth campaign to roll back car emissions standards."15
One of these Koch-backed groups, Americans for Prosperity, launched a national
campaign urging consumers to support weakening tailpipe emissions standards.16 Another
Koch-backed organization, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), worked with
Marathon to lobby state legislators with a model resolution in favor of weakening the standards
and eliminating California's ability to set its own standards.17
Almost two dozen groups, most incorporated as non-profit organizations under section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, wrote multiple letters urging Trump Administration
officials, including President Trump, to weaken emissions standards or revoke California's
authority under the Clean Air Act to set its own standards.18 While many of these groups do not
disclose their donors, all have received oil industry funding, including from Marathon, are
associated with the Koch network, or both.19
In addition, reports filed in 2017 and 2018 pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act show
that Marathon--along with oil refiners Valero Energy Corporation and Andeavor, which was
later acquired by Marathon--lobbied on the standards.
The calendars of former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and former Assistant
Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation William Wehrum show that, throughout 2017,
both Mr. Pruitt and Mr. Wehrum met with multiple representatives from oil companies,
including Marathon, ExxonMobil, British Petroleum, Chevron, and Royal Dutch Shell.21
Marathon also lobbied Congress to weaken the standards. Congressional investigators
obtained a copy of a draft letter to then-Deputy Administrator of NHTSA Heidi King, which was
drafted by a Marathon in-house lobbyist. Throughout the summer of 2018, members of the
Indiana, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania congressional delegations sent letters to Ms. King
mimicking the language of the Marathon draft letter by 37 percent, 40 percent and 80 percent,
respectively.22
American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), an oil industry trade
association of which Marathon is a member, pursued a similar strategy, planting arguments with
Republican governors to undermine the clean cars rule.23 AFPM ran a campaign on Facebook to
generate support for the Trump Administration's proposed rollback of the standards.
Request for Information and Documents
For the reasons above, we request that you provide us with the following information by
June 11, 2020:
1. All documents and communications, including emails, phone logs, and calendar
entries, from January 2017 to the present regarding any interaction between any
Marathon employee, lobbyist, or representative and EPA relating to tailpipe
emissions standards;
2. All documents and communications, including emails, phone logs, and calendar
entries, from January 2017 to the present regarding any interaction between any
Marathon employee, lobbyist, or representative and DOT or NHTSA relating to
tailpipe emissions standards;
3. All documents and communications, including emails, phone logs, and calendar
entries from January 2017 to the present regarding any interaction between any
Marathon employee, lobbyist, or representative and the following associations
and groups:
a. AFPM;
b. Koch Industries;
c. ALEC;
d. American Consumer Institute;
e. Less Government;
f. Taxpayers Protection Alliance;
g. Consumer Action for a Strong Economy;
h. American Commitment;
i. FreedomWorks;
j. Competitive Enterprise Institute;
k. Americans for Tax Reform;
l. 60 Plus Association;
m. Frontiers of Freedom;
n. Center for Freedom and Prosperity;
o. American Energy Alliance;
p. Heritage Action;
q. Americans for Limited Government;
r. Americans for Prosperity;
s. Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity;
t. James Madison Institute;
u. Rio Grande Foundation;
v. Caesar Rodney Institute; and
w. Institute for Energy Research; and
4. An itemized list of all donations and other financial assistance Marathon has
provided since January 1, 2014, to:
a. AFPM;
b. ALEC;
c. DonorsTrust,
d. Donors Capital Fund;
e. American Consumer Institute,
f. Less Government,
g. Taxpayers Protection Alliance,
h. Consumer Action for a Strong Economy,
i. American Commitment,
j. FreedomWorks,
k. Competitive Enterprise Institute,
l. Americans for Tax Reform,
m. 60 Plus Association,
n. Frontiers of Freedom,
o. Center for Freedom and Prosperity,
p. American Energy Alliance,
q. Heritage Action,
r. Americans for Limited Government,
s. Americans for Prosperity,
t. Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity,
u. James Madison Institute,
v. Rio Grande Foundation,
w. Caesar Rodney Institute, and
x. Institute for Energy Research; and
5. A complete list of all meetings from January 2017 to the present between any
Marathon employee, lobbyist, or representative and the following officials:
a. President Donald Trump;
b. Vice President Mike Pence;
c. Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt;
d. Former EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation
William Wehrum;
e. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler;
f. Former NHTSA Acting Administrator Heidi King;
g. Former NHTSA Acting Administrator and Executive Director Jack
Danielson;
h. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao; and
i. Former Deputy Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Rosen.
The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight committee of the
House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate "any matter" at "any time" under
House Rule X. An attachment to this letter provides additional instructions for responding to the
Subcommittee's request. If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact
Subcommittee staff at (202) 225-5051.