Doug Domenech

Doug Domenech

Credentials

Background

Douglas Domenech is the former secretary of natural resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia and current director of the Fueling Freedom Project at the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF).2โ€œDOUG DOMENECH, DIRECTOR, FUELING FREEDOM PROJECT,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/mSEUE

Domenech worked in several capacities for the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. His roles between 2001 to 2009 included White House liaison during the Bush Administration and deputy chief of staff.

In 2017, Domenech was named Senior White House Advisor to the Department of the Interior in the Trump administration. He also served on Donald Trump’s transition team for the Interior.3โ€œDOUG DOMENECH, DIRECTOR, FUELING FREEDOM PROJECT,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/mSEUE 4Zachary Roth. โ€œBush Interior Official To Run Virginia Natural Resources Department,โ€ TPM, January 6, 2010. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8XNK5 5Media Release. โ€œWhite House and Interior officials host territory governors at IGIA,โ€ Samoa News, February 25, 2017. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/o4Hgz 6Robin Bravender. โ€œTrump’s energy team overhauled,โ€ E&E News, November 21, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ksQlO

Doug Domenech spent several years working in the forestry industry including 12 years with the Forest Resources Association, an industry trade association. Domenech was the Senior Vice President of the lobbying firm Artemis Strategies. He was also a principal at Chrysalis Energy Partners, an energy consulting firm.7โ€œDoug Domenech: Secretary of Natural Resources: Commonwealth of Virginiaโ€ (PDF), June 22, 2012. Retrieved from Loudoun County Public Schools. Archived .pdf one file at DeSmog. 8โ€œDomenech, Doug,โ€ OpenSecrets.org. Accessed February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/OBmO2 9โ€œDOUG DOMENECH, DIRECTOR, FUELING FREEDOM PROJECT,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/mSEUE

Governor Jim Gilmore appointed Domenech to the Virginia Board of Forestry. Domenech also on Governor George Allen’s Commonwealth Competition Council. He was the former executive director of the National Center for Home Education, a division of the Home School Legal Defense Association in Purcellville, and was executive director of the Madison Project, a conservative Republican political action committee.10โ€œDomenech Named To White House Post,โ€ Leesburg Today, January 11, 2002. Archived March 28, 2006. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/0mXZw

TPPF’s Fueling Freedom project seeks to โ€œExplain the forgotten moral case for fossil fuelsโ€ while โ€œbuilding a multi-state coalition to push back against the EPA’s unconstitutional efforts to take over the electric power sector by regulating CO2 via the Clean Power Plan.โ€11โ€œHome,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived November 13, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/y99w1 12โ€œWhat We Doโ€ฆโ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived November 13, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/g8bgS Previously Domenech has promoted the views of a small fringe of contrarians scientists who reject concerns over human-caused climate change and has dismissed efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions using national and International programs.

Doug Domenech is the father of Ben Domenech, a conservative activist and blogger for the Washington Post who faced allegations of plagiarism, to which he subsequently admitted.13Howard Kurtz. โ€œPost.com Blogger Quits Amid Furor,โ€ Washington Post, March 25, 2006. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/cYcw8 14Ben Domenech. โ€œContrition,โ€ RedState, March 24, 2006. Archived December 3, 2013. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/f6bzd

Stance on Climate Change

December 13, 2016

Promoting the โ€œAt the Crossroads: Energy and Climate Summit,โ€ co-sponsored by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the Heritage Foundation, Domenech said:15Doug Domenech. โ€œClimate change: Speaking truth to power,โ€ The Hill, December 13, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Ge0l6

โ€œSpeaking truth to power, these experts had a common message in response to the age-old questions: Is climate change real? Yes, it has happened in the past and will happen in the future. Is man making an impact on the climate? Perhaps but in very small ways. But the overarching consensus remains the climate change we are experiencing is by no means catastrophic.โ€

Speaking of the climate change deniers at the conference such as Richard Lindzen, Willie Soon, Will Happer, Craig Idso, David Legates, and others, Domenech said โ€œI would say, thank you for your service.โ€16Doug Domenech. โ€œClimate change: Speaking truth to power,โ€ The Hill, December 13, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Ge0l6

May 17, 2016

Writing at RealClear Energy, Doug Domenech cites a Heritage Foundation study as proof that the 97% consensus of scientists on man-made climate change is a โ€œmythโ€:17Doug Domenech. โ€œDissent Must Be Silenced,โ€ RealClear Energy, May 17, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/GAUON

โ€œOn Earth Day, The Heritage Foundation published, ‘The State of Climate Science: No Justification for Extreme Policies.’ The report reviews much of what climate apologists insist is true including the myth that 97 percent of all climate scientists agree on global warming. That is a powerful rhetorical point and often quoted by the President, but it is also false and based on a faulty review of the abstracts of a limited number of papers,โ€ Domenech wrote.18Doug Domenech. โ€œDissent Must Be Silenced,โ€ RealClear Energy, May 17, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/GAUON

โ€œThere is little doubt that the proposed solution to the CO2 ‘problem’ will be all-pain with no-gain. The high cost will produce an immeasurable difference in CO2 concentrations,โ€ he added.19Doug Domenech. โ€œDissent Must Be Silenced,โ€ RealClear Energy, May 17, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/GAUON

December 23, 2015

Writing in The Federalist, after describing the Paris Climate Agreement as a โ€œillegal, unconstitutional, and scientifically flawed ‘agreement’ that in the end will not prevent the earthโ€™s climate from changing,โ€ Douglas Domenech declared:20โ€œLike CO2, The Paris Agreement Is Vapid,โ€ The Federalist, December 23, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/7aRgc

โ€œThe climate changesโ€”deal with it.โ€

November 12, 2015

Writing in the Washington Examiner, Doug Domenech suggests that climate change is a subject that can be explained by eighth grade earth science:21Doug Domenech. โ€œClimate issues deserve an honest debate,โ€ Washington Examiner, November 12, 2015. Archived .pdf one file at DeSmog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/e9dZj

โ€œHaving many friends in the political and policy spheres, I do not know a single Republican who does not believe the climate is changing. If you remember your basic eighth grade earth science you will recall that the earth has a constantly changing climate from ice ages to warming periods, and our current climate is not some new objective standard that must be held constant.โ€22Doug Domenech. โ€œClimate issues deserve an honest debate,โ€ Washington Examiner, November 12, 2015. Archived .pdf one file at DeSmog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/e9dZj

Key Quotes

April 14, 2016

Writing at the National Review, Domenech claims that the Paris Climate Agreement will have no benefits to society:23Doug Domenech. โ€œEarth Day Betrayed,โ€ National Review, April 14, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL:https://archive.is/54lvh

โ€œIn order to achieve the unmeasurably small climate benefit of 0.018 degree Celsius, the United States would have to wreak havoc on the economy, jobs, and electricity rates โ€” and, in the process, on the lives of millions of people. While life on Earth is improving, the U.N. policy would only reverse what has been achieved. Earth Day resulted in tangible benefits to society. The Paris agreement will not.โ€24Doug Domenech. โ€œEarth Day Betrayed,โ€ National Review, April 14, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL:https://archive.is/54lvh

February 21, 2016

Quoted in the Tyler Morning Telegraph, Domenech said that the climate benefits of phasing out coal is โ€œquestionableโ€:25โ€œClean Power Plan not the only threat,โ€ Tyler Morning Telegraph, February 21, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/R2L1b

โ€œIt is no surprise to anyone that this Administration wants to regulate out of existence coal mining and the use of coal in energy production. While the climate benefits of such a move are questionable, there has been a clear real impact on coal communities, families and associated industries that rely on the production and use of this plentiful, efficient, low-cost natural energy source.โ€26โ€œClean Power Plan not the only threat,โ€ Tyler Morning Telegraph, February 21, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/R2L1b

In the same article, Domenech accuses President Obama of ignoring climate science:27โ€œClean Power Plan not the only threat,โ€ Tyler Morning Telegraph, February 21, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/R2L1b

โ€œPresident Obama made certain environmental promises to core constituencies and donors to rein in the use of fossil fuels, which they blame for changing the weather โ€“ er, the climate โ€“ ignoring complicated climate science, everything we know about the earthโ€™s climate history (think โ€“ naturally WAY cooler and WAY hotter in the past), and the fact that UN climate models consistently overestimate the climateโ€™s sensitivity to increasing levels of CO2.28โ€œClean Power Plan not the only threat,โ€ Tyler Morning Telegraph, February 21, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/R2L1b

[โ€ฆ] Denial is part of addiction. No matter how much you insist that the subject of climate is not open to debate, the debate rages on.โ€29โ€œClean Power Plan not the only threat,โ€ Tyler Morning Telegraph, February 21, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/R2L1b

May 5, 2015

Domenech declares in an article he wrote for The Federalist:30โ€œWhy Does EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Hate Texas?โ€ The Federalist, May 5, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/gf5h5

โ€œThe Clean Power Plan will require states to ask ‘Mother, may I?’ when it comes to electricity production. In this case, the mother is McCarthyโ€™s EPA office.โ€31โ€œWhy Does EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Hate Texas?โ€ The Federalist, May 5, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/gf5h5

November 10, 2015

Writing at the Morning Consult, in an article titled โ€œThe Climate Addiction,โ€ Domenech reframes the โ€œwar on coalโ€ as a โ€œwar on coal familiesโ€:32Doug Domenech. โ€œThe Climate Addiction,โ€ Morning Consult, November 10, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/yL70w

โ€œThe War on Coal is really a war on coal families. Hardworking middle-class families with hopes and dreams for their children. A war based on a radical and questionable scientific premise, a desire to be loved at home and abroad by a small environmentalist minority, and a proven flawed economic theory of centralized government control.โ€33Doug Domenech. โ€œThe Climate Addiction,โ€ Morning Consult, November 10, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/yL70w

Key Deeds

November 21, 2016

Doug Domenech was added to Donald Trump’s energy and environmental transition team, taking on the lead of the Interior team which was previously headed by another former Bush Interior official, David Bernhardt, E&E News reported.34Robin Bravender. โ€œTrump’s energy team overhauled,โ€ E&E News, November 21, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ksQlO

The Center for Biological Diversity issued the following statement in response to Domenechโ€™s appointment:35(Press Release). โ€œTrump’s New Interior Department Transition Team Leader Believes Burning Fossil Fuels Is a ‘Moral’ Imperative; Has Ties to Koch Brothers, ExxonMobil,โ€ Centre for Biological Diversity, November 21, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/AGRdk

โ€œItโ€™s beyond frightening that Trump would appoint a shill for Big Oil to plot the direction of a department that administers millions of acres of public lands that belong to all Americans,โ€ said Randi Spivak, the Centerโ€™s public lands director. โ€œThis is a clear signal that in a Trump administration it will be open season for corporations who want to frack, drill or mine our public resources, regardless of climate chaos, water pollution, species extinction and health impacts to communities. Any attempt to open up Americaโ€™s public lands to increased fracking, drilling and extraction will be met with a wall of public resistance. Thatโ€™s the real moral imperative.โ€36(Press Release). โ€œTrump’s New Interior Department Transition Team Leader Believes Burning Fossil Fuels Is a ‘Moral’ Imperative; Has Ties to Koch Brothers, ExxonMobil,โ€ Centre for Biological Diversity, November 21, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/AGRdk

November 16, 2016

Doug Domenech, writing at RealClear Energy, celebrated Donald Trump and suggests that the prior administration’s โ€œunrelenting commitment to ‘fighting’ climate changeโ€ as well as restrictions on oil and gas drilling on federal lands and offshore has had a โ€œharmful impact on local communities and the economy.โ€37Doug Domenech. โ€œWhatโ€™s Next for Energy and Climate Policy?โ€ RealClear Energy, November 16, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/4y1Xx

Speaking on Trump’s new energy plans, including the rescinding of the coal mining lease moratorium and other โ€œanti-coalโ€ regulations, Domenech wrote:38Doug Domenech. โ€œWhatโ€™s Next for Energy and Climate Policy?โ€ RealClear Energy, November 16, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/4y1Xx

โ€œThese policies will reinvigorate communities across the nation. Especially those most seriously impacted by the current restrictive energy policies.

โ€œThe purpose of these new policies is to stop the intrusion of government into the marketplace. Coal may not come back, but it should at least be allowed to compete on a level playing field against natural gas and so-called โ€œgreenโ€ energy such as wind and solar.โ€39Doug Domenech. โ€œWhatโ€™s Next for Energy and Climate Policy?โ€ RealClear Energy, November 16, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/4y1Xx

Domenech then invites readers to attend the co-hosted Texas Public Policy Foundation and The Heritage Foundation event, the third annual โ€œAt the Crossroads: Energy and Climate Policy Summit.โ€40Doug Domenech. โ€œWhatโ€™s Next for Energy and Climate Policy?โ€ RealClear Energy, November 16, 2016. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/4y1Xx

September 7, 2016

Doug Domenech went on One America News Network to discuss the โ€œEPA’s regulatory overreach.โ€ Domenech says that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is out of control.41โ€œHouse Conservatives Move to Curb EPA Overreach,โ€ YouTube Video uploaded by user One America News Network, September 7, 2016. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œI think EPA is out of control because of this tendency to want to continue to impose new regulations,โ€ Domenech said. โ€œAnother great example is they are pushing for a new ozone standard while the last standard is still being implemented.โ€

August 26, 2016

Doug Domenech appeared on the Bill Martinez show where he talked about global warming and environmentalism. Domenech’s talk was titled โ€œShould We Be Having Kids In The Age Of Climate Change?โ€42โ€œListen to Doug Domenechโ€™s Interview on the Bill Martinez Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog. 43โ€œAugust 26, 2016,โ€ Bill Martinez Live. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Fe9r4

โ€œThe essence of the way environmental people think, when you really boil it down, is that the way we can protect our kids is not to have them in the first place,โ€ Domenech told Martinez.44โ€œListen to Doug Domenechโ€™s Interview on the Bill Martinez Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

Referring to professor Travis N. Rieder from John Hopkins University, Domenech said Rieder was lecturing students and claiming that โ€œfor us to protect ourselves from global warming, and especially to protect kids and people in Africa, that we should have fewer kids in America.โ€

Domenech said this was โ€œa complete turning over of the principle that people are our most important resource.โ€45โ€œListen to Doug Domenechโ€™s Interview on the Bill Martinez Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

Bill Martinez went on to discuss abortion, which said was eliminating โ€œsome 56 million plus of our labour force [..] because of the eugenics movement, Margaret Sanger, and Planned Parenthood.โ€ Martinez asks, โ€œIs this the same type of philosophy, just in a different shape and form?โ€ to which Domenech replies:46โ€œListen to Doug Domenechโ€™s Interview on the Bill Martinez Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œWell, it is. And you might remember Paul Ehrlich, he’s a noted environmental guy, wrote The Population Bomb. And as well as Margaret Sanger and her eugenics. And Lester Brown is another nameโ€”he’s just written a book called Full Planet, Empty Plate. [โ€ฆ] The essence of the philosophy of these people is that we need to return the Earth to its pre-human state, and that’s the only thing that’s going to satisfy them.โ€47โ€œListen to Doug Domenechโ€™s Interview on the Bill Martinez Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

Domenech lumps global warming in with a list of supposed non-problems, including global cooling, mass starvation, resource depletion, and species extinctions:48โ€œListen to Doug Domenechโ€™s Interview on the Bill Martinez Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œBack in the 70s, one of the great failed environmental predictions was global cooling,โ€ he said. โ€œIn the mid 1700s we were still in the midst of a little ice age, and cooling was a very significant problem, and it remains a big problem. And, of course, that led us to talking about overpopulationโ€”that has not really been a problem.โ€49โ€œListen to Doug Domenechโ€™s Interview on the Bill Martinez Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

He says another โ€œnon-problemโ€ is mass starvation, as โ€œour food production is bigger than ever.โ€50โ€œListen to Doug Domenechโ€™s Interview on the Bill Martinez Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

Talking about resource depletion, Domenech pointed to fracking as the reason why โ€œwe’ve got more oil and gas than ever.โ€51โ€œListen to Doug Domenechโ€™s Interview on the Bill Martinez Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œMass extinction of species – and that has really not happened,โ€ he said.52โ€œListen to Doug Domenechโ€™s Interview on the Bill Martinez Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œThat, of course, leads us to global warming, where we are today. These are all these big constructs that we need to worry about, and this is just the latest.โ€53โ€œListen to Doug Domenechโ€™s Interview on the Bill Martinez Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

Domenech had written an article covering similar issues a day prior in RealClear Energy titled โ€œYour Damn Children are Killing the Planet.โ€54Doug Domenech. โ€œYour Damn Children are Killing the Planet,โ€ RealClear Energy, August 25, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/eCIH2

April 19, 2016

Doug Domenech released a statement on behalf of the Texas Public Policy Foundation on the removal of the extension of renewable energy subsidies from the must-pass reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration:55โ€œTPPF STATEMENT ON REMOVAL OF ENERGY SUBSIDIES FROM FAA REAUTHORIZATION BILL,โ€ Fueling Freedom. April 19, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/E01Hi

โ€œWe are pleased that leadership in the U.S. Senate removed the troublesome tax incentives and credits attached to the FAA Reauthorization bill,โ€ said Doug Domenech. โ€œEnergy production in America should be based on the free market, not artificially propped up in ways that mask the real cost to the consumer and the taxpayer.โ€56โ€œTPPF STATEMENT ON REMOVAL OF ENERGY SUBSIDIES FROM FAA REAUTHORIZATION BILL,โ€ Fueling Freedom. April 19, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/E01Hi

TPPF was one of 33 groups that included Americans for Prosperity to send a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) asking that expiring renewable energy subsidies not be attached to a must-pass reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, describing them as โ€œgreen porkโ€ provisions.57โ€œTPPF STATEMENT ON REMOVAL OF ENERGY SUBSIDIES FROM FAA REAUTHORIZATION BILL,โ€ Fueling Freedom. April 19, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/E01Hi

March 27, 2016

Domenech went on The Jacki Daily Show to talk about โ€œThe Real History of Earth Day.โ€ Audio below.58โ€œRADIO: Doug Domenech on the Blazeโ€™s Jacki Daily Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom, March 27, 2016. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

January 26, 2016

Doug Domenech testified before the Missouri House of Representatives Energy and the Environment Committee in support of HB1470, which would create an โ€œInterstate Power Compact.โ€ HB1470 would work to restrict the EPA’s Clean Air Act, also known as the Clean Power Plan, by excepting Member States from participating in the plan unless โ€œhe filing involves emission limits of what is technically achievable inside the physical boundaries of the electrical generating units, and (2) until such time as the U.S. Supreme Court has rendered an opinion that the Clean Power Plan is legally valid,โ€ the TPPF press release reads.59โ€œTPPFโ€™s Doug Domenech Testifies in Support of Interstate Power Compact,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation, January 26, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/E61ci

โ€œThere are significant legal, technical, and policy deficiencies to the so-called Clean Power Plan and this legislation provides important safeguards for Missouri,โ€ said Domenech. โ€œMissouri will be significantly impacted by the CPPโ€™s carbon emission rule since 83 percent of Missouriโ€™s electricity is produced by low cost coal and the EPA is demanding the state reduce emissions by 37 percent. It is high time for states to coordinate a response to this EPA overreach and this is exactly what the Interstate Power Compact does.โ€60โ€œTPPFโ€™s Doug Domenech Testifies in Support of Interstate Power Compact,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation, January 26, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/E61ci

July 2016

Domenech wrote a study titled โ€œThe EPA’s Clean Power Plan Will Hurt the Poor and Middle Class the Mostโ€ (PDF). In the study, he quotes Harry Alford, president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, who called the CPP โ€œa slap in the face to poor and minority familiesโ€ and also commissioned his own study that criticized the CPP.61โ€œThe EPA’s Clean Power Plan Will Hurt the Poor and Middle Class the Mostโ€ (PDF), Green Watch, March 23, 2016. Retrieved from Texas Public Policy Foundation.

โ€œThe elite can afford higher energy costs. But people on fixed incomes, and lower- and middle-income families (including many African Americans and Latinos/Hispanics), and businesses that provide jobs to working class peopleโ€”they need energy thatโ€™s affordable. For many of them, the choice is between the CPP [โ€ฆ] and keeping the lights on,โ€ Domenech concludes in the report.62โ€œThe EPA’s Clean Power Plan Will Hurt the Poor and Middle Class the Mostโ€ (PDF), Green Watch, March 23, 2016. Retrieved from Texas Public Policy Foundation.

June 8, 2016

Writing in The Daily Caller, in an article titled โ€œDid You Burn Any Fossil Fuels Today?โ€ Domenech says that โ€œthe facts do not support the President [Obama]โ€ when it comes to linking extreme weather events to climate change. Instead, Domenech cites climate change denier Lamar Smith who had said that โ€œThe lack of evidence is clear: no increased tornadoes, no increased hurricanes, no increased droughts or floods.โ€63โ€œDid You Burn Any Fossil Fuels Today?โ€ Daily Caller, June 8, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/aJnOn

In conclusion, Domenech says that third-world companies should burn fossil fuels without worry:64โ€œDid You Burn Any Fossil Fuels Today?โ€ Daily Caller, June 8, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/aJnOn

โ€œThe policies of the United States should not doom third world countries to a lifetime of poverty. Allowing everyone to unleash the potential prosperity and health generated by fossil fuels is how we transform society. Everyone deserves to have the same benefits we enjoy.โ€65โ€œDid You Burn Any Fossil Fuels Today?โ€ Daily Caller, June 8, 2016. Archived February 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/aJnOn

December 22, 2015

Following an interview with prominent climate change denier Myron Ebell, Douglas Domenech appeared on The Federalist radio hour to discuss the clean power plan. Domenechโ€™s piece begins at 32:11:66โ€œMyron Ebell Returns From Paris Climate Conference With Concerns,โ€ The Federalist, December 22, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/r0lKN

โ€œThe administrationโ€™s big climate program is the Clean Power Plan and has been finalized by the EPA and published in the federal register about two months ago and what you saw was immediately 27 states filed suits in the courts,โ€ Domenech said. โ€œItโ€™s going to boil down to the state level.โ€67โ€œMyron Ebell Returns From Paris Climate Conference With Concerns,โ€ The Federalist, December 22, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/r0lKN

September 23, 2015

Doug Domenech went on Bill Bennett’s Morning in America radio show where he discussed Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment.68โ€œDoug Domenech on Bill Bennettโ€™s Morning in America Radio Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 26, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

According to Domenech, โ€œThe Pope is being really ill-advised by folks that are really more global leftists concerned about ending capitalism more than helping the environment.โ€69โ€œDoug Domenech on Bill Bennettโ€™s Morning in America Radio Show,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 26, 2017. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

August 10, 2015

Doug Domenech discussed the Clean Power Plan on Coffee and Markets. Audio below (Domenech starts speaking at [26:50]).70โ€œDoug Domenech interviewed on Coffee and Markets,โ€ Fueling Freedom, August 10, 2015. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

Domenech discussed a piece he wrote criticizing the Clean Power Plan (CPP) on August 4 in The Federalist. He cites the conservative Heritage Foundation:71โ€œDoug Domenech interviewed on Coffee and Markets,โ€ Fueling Freedom, August 10, 2015. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œThe Heritage Foundation put out a great study that talks about how expensive it’s going to be. They estimate that everybody’s bill, including the poorest people in our society, are going to end up paying 12 to 17 percent more for their electricity. Heritage estimates a loss of 2.5 trillion in GDP across the country, and more than a million job losses. When you close these plants, especially coal plants, across the country, people are going to lose their jobs.โ€72โ€œDoug Domenech interviewed on Coffee and Markets,โ€ Fueling Freedom, August 10, 2015. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œIt really is the ultimate central planner’s sort of perspective when they say that green energy produces jobs,โ€ he said. โ€œWhen the state imposes its will into the marketplace, we no longer have a free market.โ€73โ€œDoug Domenech interviewed on Coffee and Markets,โ€ Fueling Freedom, August 10, 2015. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œThe plan they put out really is illegal, and it far exceeds the authority of the EPA’s ability in the Clean Air Act to even impose something like this,โ€ Domenech adds.74โ€œDoug Domenech interviewed on Coffee and Markets,โ€ Fueling Freedom, August 10, 2015. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

August 4, 2015

Doug Domenech wrote in The Federalist a number of criticisms he had for President Obama’s Clean Power Plan:75โ€œObama Wasnโ€™t Kidding About Wanting To Spike Your Electricity Bill,โ€ The Federalist, August 4, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8Xsde

โ€œThe final rule is still illegal and will be changed in court as soon as the ink is dry later this summer,โ€ Domenech says. โ€œThe cost of the rule is in the billions. The final rule still imposes higher energy prices on families, businesses, and the poor,โ€ he adds.76โ€œObama Wasnโ€™t Kidding About Wanting To Spike Your Electricity Bill,โ€ The Federalist, August 4, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8Xsde

Other claims Domenech make include:

โ€œ[T]he final rule threatens the electric power grid.โ€77โ€œObama Wasnโ€™t Kidding About Wanting To Spike Your Electricity Bill,โ€ The Federalist, August 4, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8Xsde

โ€œEven if you believe carbon is a pollutant, the final rule still does nothing to address climate change [โ€ฆ]โ€78โ€œObama Wasnโ€™t Kidding About Wanting To Spike Your Electricity Bill,โ€ The Federalist, August 4, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8Xsde

Domenech concludes that Governors should rebel by refusing to submit state plans:

โ€œWhat should states do?

โ€œGovernors should continue to oppose the rule by refusing to submit a state plan. Three courageous governors have already said publicly that they will not submit a plan.

โ€œState legislatures should also oppose the rule by passing legislation to protect consumers, businesses, and low-income Americans, and by restricting state agencies from submitting a state plan until the courts have ruled it legal. Almost 30 states filed negative comments on the proposed rule.

โ€œCongress should continue its efforts to restrict funding for the plan, passing legislation protecting ratepayers, and allowing governors to have the flexibility to reject the plan if it raises electricity rates.โ€79โ€œObama Wasnโ€™t Kidding About Wanting To Spike Your Electricity Bill,โ€ The Federalist, August 4, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8Xsde

August 3, 2015

In a TPPF press release, Domenech urged states not comply with the EPA’s Clean Power Plan:80Kathleen Hartnett-White, Robert Henneke, and Doug Domenech. โ€œTPPF: CLEAN POWER PLAN FINAL RULE SEIZES SWEEPING POWER OVER ELECTRICITY,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation, August 3, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Q3DWG

โ€œThis latest rule does nothing for the environment, costs billions to implement, and hurts people and businesses by increasing the cost of electricity for everyone,โ€ said Domenech. โ€œIt is critical that states not comply with this unconstitutional rule. Economic vitality is at stake, jobs are at stake, and low income Americans will disproportionately suffer its consequences.โ€81Kathleen Hartnett-White, Robert Henneke, and Doug Domenech. โ€œTPPF: CLEAN POWER PLAN FINAL RULE SEIZES SWEEPING POWER OVER ELECTRICITY,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation, August 3, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Q3DWG

July 12, 2015

Doug Domenech criticized the Clean Power Plan (CPP) in the Washington Examiner:82Doug Domenech. โ€œWhat’s next for the EPA’s ‘all pain, no gain’ Clean Power Plan?โ€ Washington Examiner, July 12, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/0hlMc

โ€œThe EPA’s so-called Clean Power Plan is an illegal takeover of the electric power production sector and amounts to a national energy tax on all Americans,โ€ he wrote. โ€œThe administration’s goal is to force states to replace their current mix of low cost, reliable energy fuels with a higher cost mix of renewables that are largely dependent on the weather.โ€83Doug Domenech. โ€œWhat’s next for the EPA’s ‘all pain, no gain’ Clean Power Plan?โ€ Washington Examiner, July 12, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/0hlMc

He said that states should work together to oppose the clean power plan by joining an Interstate Power Compact (IPC).84Doug Domenech. โ€œWhat’s next for the EPA’s ‘all pain, no gain’ Clean Power Plan?โ€ Washington Examiner, July 12, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/0hlMc

โ€œThe EPA is an overreaching federal agency unbounded by public opinion or congressional oversight that acts recklessly on secret science. It is high time to withdraw the Clean Power Plan rule.โ€85Doug Domenech. โ€œWhat’s next for the EPA’s ‘all pain, no gain’ Clean Power Plan?โ€ Washington Examiner, July 12, 2015. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/0hlMc

April 24, 2015

Doug Domenech issued a statement on behalf of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, commending Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin for not filing a State Implementation Plan (SIP) with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):86โ€œTPPF Statement on Oklahoma Stand Against EPA Overreach,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ekGJo

โ€œOklahoma recognizes the EPAโ€™s Clean Power Plan edict for what it is: a power grab,โ€ Domenech wrote. โ€œThe overreach by this federal agency is an attempt to take control over power generation in the states in such a way that would dramatically increase costs on individuals and businesses alike while harming jobs and statesโ€™ economies. I applaud Governor Fallin for taking such a strong stand against this seriously flawed and unconstitutional EPA regulation. State โ€“ all states โ€“ should count the cost of complying in terms of higher electricity rates on all families โ€“ rich and poor โ€“ and all businesses โ€“ large and small.โ€87โ€œTPPF Statement on Oklahoma Stand Against EPA Overreach,โ€ Fueling Freedom. Archived February 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ekGJo

Affiliations

Government

  • Commonwealth of Virginia โ€” Secretary of Natural Resources (January 2010 โ€“ January 2014).99โ€œDoug Domenech,โ€ LinkedIn. Accessed February 25, 2017. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
  • U.S. Department of the Interiorโ€” Deputy Chief of Staff (November 2005 โ€“ January 2009); Deputy Assistant Secretary Insular Affairs (March 2008 โ€“ January 2009); White House Liaison (November 2001 โ€“ January 2006); Deputy Director, External and Intergovernmental Affairs (July 2001 โ€“ November 2001).100โ€œDoug Domenech,โ€ LinkedIn. Accessed February 25, 2017. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
  • Virginia Board of Forestry โ€” Board member, appointed by Governor Jim Gilmore.101โ€œDomenech Named To White House Post,โ€ Leesburg Today, January 11, 2002. Archived March 28, 2006. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/0mXZw
  • Governor George Allen’s Commonwealth Competition Council โ€” Former Member.102โ€œDomenech Named To White House Post,โ€ Leesburg Today, January 11, 2002. Archived March 28, 2006. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/0mXZw

Social Media

Publications

Washington Examiner

The Federalist

The Daily Caller

RealClear Energy

Other Resources

Resources

Related Profiles

Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) Background The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) is a conservative think tank based in Austin, Texas, founded by James R. Leininger in 1989.โ€œA Night...
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Kathleen Hartnett White Credentials M.A., Humanities & Religion, Stanford University.โ€œKathleen Hartnett White, Distinguished Senior Fellow-In-Residence & Director, Armstrong Center ...
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