Political activities of the Koch family
Encyclopedia
The political activities of the Koch family
are the political activities of the family of Fred C. Koch
, a co-founder of Koch Industries
, an oil, gas, and chemical conglomerate which is the second largest privately held company in the United States with annual revenues of $110 billion. Many of the activities are carried out via the Koch Family Foundations
, the most prominent of which are the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, created by two of Fred C. Koch
's sons, Charles G. Koch
and David H. Koch
. While the majority of the family's charitable donations go toward medical research and the Arts, notable political activities include Charles Koch co-founding the Cato Institute
in 1977, and David Koch being the Libertarian Vice-Presidential candidate in 1980 and helping found the Citizens for a Sound Economy
in 1984, and its spin-off Americans for Prosperity
in 2004. In total, the Koch brothers have given more than $196 million to dozens of free-market and advocacy organizations, in addition to over $600 million to arts, science, and educational organizations. Tax records indicate that in 2008 the three main Koch family foundations gave money to 34 political and policy organizations, three of which they founded, and several of which they direct.
, the father of Charles and David, was a member of the John Birch Society
. He gave a speech in 1963 warning of “a takeover” of America in which Communists would “infiltrate the highest offices of government in the U.S. until the president is a Communist, unknown to the rest of us”. His anti-communism stemmed from his experiences in the Soviet Union, where the very engineers who supported the Bolshevik Revolution and told Fred Koch that they would one day take over the world, were later purged by that same movement.
David H. Koch was a Libertarian Vice-Presidential candidate in 1980. He advocated the abolition of Social Security, the FBI, the CIA, and public schools. Koch put $500,000 into the race, and he and Ed Clark
, his presidential running mate, won 1% of the vote—the best Libertarian showing in a U.S. presidential race to date. But the experience caused David Koch to change course: "I had enough," he said. "We are not a nation that debates issues. We vote on candidates' personalities." By 1984, David had parted company with the Libertarian party, because, he said, "they nominated a ticket I wasn't happy with" and "so many of the hard-core Libertarian ideas are unrealistic."
Since then, Charles and David Koch have adopted a much less visible strategy toward advancing their libertarian agenda. In 1986, David Koch helped found the Citizens for a Sound Economy
, and has given over $21 million to the Cato Institute
.
The Koch brothers fund a multitude of groups including Americans for Prosperity
, opposed to fiscally left-wing policies
.
The Koch brothers have expressed the belief that economic freedom
is essential for the well-being of society.
Charles and David have been targeted recently with harassment and threats. In April 2011, a Des Moines, Iowa
office supply firm, Koch Brothers, reported receiving dozens of harassing emails and phone calls and even a death threat.
funds and supports libertarian
and free-market organizations such as the Cato Institute
, which he co-founded with Edward H. Crane and Murray Rothbard
in 1977, and is a board member at the Mercatus Center
, a market-oriented research think tank
at George Mason University
. Koch supported his brother's candidacy for Vice President
on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1980. After the bid, Koch told a reporter that conventional politics "tends to be a nasty, corrupting business ... I’m interested in advancing libertarian ideas". In addition to funding think tanks, Charles and David also support libertarian academics and (since 1992) Koch funds the Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program through the Institute for Humane Studies
which recruits and mentors young libertarians. Koch is also chair of the Institute's board of directors. Koch also organizes twice yearly meetings of Republican donors.
established the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation with the stated purpose of advancing social progress and well-being through the development, application and dissemination of "the Science of Liberty," and in 1981 he inherited control of the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation when he was left in charge of Claude Lambe's estate. David H. Koch
established the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation. Charles' and David's foundations have together provided hundreds of millions of dollars to a variety of organizations, including arts organizations, educational organizations, and libertarian
or conservative think tanks.
was co-founded by David Koch in the 1980s, and, according to the Center for Public Integrity
, the Koch Brothers funded it with $7.9 million between 1986 and 1993. In 1990, they created the spinoff group, Citizens for the Environment.
In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy was renamed FreedomWorks
, while its affiliated Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation became Americans for Prosperity
(AFP). Since then the Koch brothers have given more than one million dollars to AFP. At an AFP rally in 2009, David Koch said "Five years ago, my brother Charles and I provided the funds to start the Americans for Prosperity, and it's beyond my wildest dreams how AFP has grown into this enormous organization." AFP is the political arm of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, of which David Koch is chairman of the Board of Trustees. Americans for Prosperity created Patients United Now, which advocated against a single-payer system
during the 2009-2010 healthcare reform
debate. Both FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity have provided support for the Tea Party movement
.
Charles and David Koch also have been involved and have provided funding to a number of other think tanks and advocacy organizations: They provided initial funding for the Cato Institute
, they are key donors to the Federalist Society
, and also support the Mercatus Center
, the Institute for Humane Studies
, the Institute for Justice
, the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution
, the Institute for Energy Research
, the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment
, Heritage Foundation
, the Manhattan Institute
, the George C. Marshall Institute
, the Reason Foundation
and the American Enterprise Institute
.
As of 2011, David Koch sits on the board of directors of the Cato institute, the Reason Foundation
and Aspen Institute
.
principles and supports those who champion them. For the 2012 election cycle, the Koch brothers plan to raise $88 million dollars.
, which lobbies for legislation opposing unions.
According to Mother Jones Magazine, Koch Industries' Political Action Committee
contributed the second highest donation to Scott Walker
's November 2010 gubernatorial campaign
; in office, Walker and the Republican representatives in the Wisconsin House enacted limitations to collective bargaining
by public employees, leading to the 2011 Wisconsin protests
. In February 2011, the New York Times reported that Americans for Prosperity
had lobbied for Walker's proposed bill. Because of the campaign contribution, David Koch
became a symbolic target for the protests.
, which is responsible for legislation affecting the industry. Koch employees donated $279,500 to 22 Republican
s and $32,000 to five Democrat
s, including $20,000 to committee chairman Fred Upton
(R-Michigan). Of the six Republican members who were elected to Congress for the first time, Americans for Prosperity supported five of their campaigns. Of twelve Republicans newly appointed to the Committee, nine signed a pledge distributed by Americans for Prosperity to oppose greenhouse gas regulation.
Koch Industries and its subsidiaries spent more than $20 million on lobbying in 2008 and $12.3 million in 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics
, a nonpartisan research group. In an article about the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature
study (Chair Richard A. Muller
), Los Angeles Times
reporter Margot Roosevelt
called the Koch Brothers as "the nation's most prominent funders of efforts to prevent curbs on fossil-fuel burning".
The Claude R. Lambe Foundation, has donated to the American Energy Alliance, an offshoot of the Institute for Energy Research
.
and Clarence Thomas
; Governors Bobby Jindal
and Haley Barbour
; commentators John Stossel
, Charles Krauthammer
, Glenn Beck
, and Rush Limbaugh
; Senators Jim DeMint
and Tom Coburn
; and Representatives Paul Ryan
, Mike Pence
, and Tom Price."
and Bill Gates
climate fund) a major funder of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature
project, an effort to resolve criticism of records of the Earth's surface temperatures (two of the project's seven scientists are seen as climate skeptics by many in the climate science
world).
Documents obtained by Greenpeace
under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act
show that the Charles G. Koch Foundation
gave climate skeptic
Willie Soon
two grants totaling $175,000 in 2005/6 and again in 2010. Soon has stated that he has "never been motivated by financial reward in any of my scientific research."
identified 12 American foundations that have had a key influence on US public policy since the 1960s, particularly via their support for the Heritage Foundation
, American Enterprise Institute
and Cato Institute
. Three of these 12 are Koch Family Foundations
(Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation, David H. Koch Charitable Foundation). Charles Koch co-founded the Cato Institute, whilst David Koch sits on its board.
Koch family
The Koch family of industrialists and businessmen is most notable for their control of Koch Industries, the second largest privately owned company in the United States. The family business was started by Fred C. Koch, who developed a new cracking method for the refinement of heavy oil into...
are the political activities of the family of Fred C. Koch
Fred C. Koch
Fred Chase Koch was an American chemical engineer and entrepreneur who founded the oil refinery firm that later became Koch Industries, the second-largest privately-held company in the United States....
, a co-founder of Koch Industries
Koch Industries
Koch Industries, Inc. , is an American private energy conglomerate based in Wichita, Kansas, with subsidiaries involved in manufacturing, trading and investments. Koch also owns Invista, Georgia-Pacific, Flint Hills Resources, Koch Pipeline, Koch Fertilizer, Koch Minerals and Matador Cattle Company...
, an oil, gas, and chemical conglomerate which is the second largest privately held company in the United States with annual revenues of $110 billion. Many of the activities are carried out via the Koch Family Foundations
Koch Family Foundations
Koch Family Foundations is the informal name for a group of charities in the United States of America associated with the family of Fred C. Koch. The most prominent of these are the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, created by two of Fred C...
, the most prominent of which are the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, created by two of Fred C. Koch
Fred C. Koch
Fred Chase Koch was an American chemical engineer and entrepreneur who founded the oil refinery firm that later became Koch Industries, the second-largest privately-held company in the United States....
's sons, Charles G. Koch
Charles G. Koch
Charles de Ganahl Koch is co-owner, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries Inc., the second-largest privately held company by revenue in the United States according to a 2010 Forbes survey...
and David H. Koch
David H. Koch
David Hamilton Koch is an American businessman, philanthropist, political activist, and chemical engineer. He is a co-owner and an executive vice president of Koch Industries, a conglomerate that is the second-largest privately held company in the U.S...
. While the majority of the family's charitable donations go toward medical research and the Arts, notable political activities include Charles Koch co-founding the Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
in 1977, and David Koch being the Libertarian Vice-Presidential candidate in 1980 and helping found the Citizens for a Sound Economy
Citizens for a Sound Economy
Citizens for a Sound Economy was a conservative political group operating in the United States, whose self-described mission was "to fight for less government, lower taxes, and less regulation." In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy split into two new organizations, with Citizens for a Sound...
in 1984, and its spin-off Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity is a Washington, D.C.–based political advocacy group. According to their literature, they promote economic policy that supports business, and restrains regulation by government...
in 2004. In total, the Koch brothers have given more than $196 million to dozens of free-market and advocacy organizations, in addition to over $600 million to arts, science, and educational organizations. Tax records indicate that in 2008 the three main Koch family foundations gave money to 34 political and policy organizations, three of which they founded, and several of which they direct.
Background
Fred C. KochFred C. Koch
Fred Chase Koch was an American chemical engineer and entrepreneur who founded the oil refinery firm that later became Koch Industries, the second-largest privately-held company in the United States....
, the father of Charles and David, was a member of the John Birch Society
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
. He gave a speech in 1963 warning of “a takeover” of America in which Communists would “infiltrate the highest offices of government in the U.S. until the president is a Communist, unknown to the rest of us”. His anti-communism stemmed from his experiences in the Soviet Union, where the very engineers who supported the Bolshevik Revolution and told Fred Koch that they would one day take over the world, were later purged by that same movement.
David H. Koch was a Libertarian Vice-Presidential candidate in 1980. He advocated the abolition of Social Security, the FBI, the CIA, and public schools. Koch put $500,000 into the race, and he and Ed Clark
Ed Clark
Ed Clark is an American politician who ran for Governor of California in 1978, and for President of the United States as the nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1980 presidential election....
, his presidential running mate, won 1% of the vote—the best Libertarian showing in a U.S. presidential race to date. But the experience caused David Koch to change course: "I had enough," he said. "We are not a nation that debates issues. We vote on candidates' personalities." By 1984, David had parted company with the Libertarian party, because, he said, "they nominated a ticket I wasn't happy with" and "so many of the hard-core Libertarian ideas are unrealistic."
Since then, Charles and David Koch have adopted a much less visible strategy toward advancing their libertarian agenda. In 1986, David Koch helped found the Citizens for a Sound Economy
Citizens for a Sound Economy
Citizens for a Sound Economy was a conservative political group operating in the United States, whose self-described mission was "to fight for less government, lower taxes, and less regulation." In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy split into two new organizations, with Citizens for a Sound...
, and has given over $21 million to the Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
.
The Koch brothers fund a multitude of groups including Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity is a Washington, D.C.–based political advocacy group. According to their literature, they promote economic policy that supports business, and restrains regulation by government...
, opposed to fiscally left-wing policies
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
.
The Koch brothers have expressed the belief that economic freedom
Economic freedom
Economic freedom is a term used in economic and policy debates. As with freedom generally, there are various definitions, but no universally accepted concept of economic freedom...
is essential for the well-being of society.
Charles and David have been targeted recently with harassment and threats. In April 2011, a Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
office supply firm, Koch Brothers, reported receiving dozens of harassing emails and phone calls and even a death threat.
Charles G. Koch
Charles G. KochCharles G. Koch
Charles de Ganahl Koch is co-owner, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries Inc., the second-largest privately held company by revenue in the United States according to a 2010 Forbes survey...
funds and supports libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
and free-market organizations such as the Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
, which he co-founded with Edward H. Crane and Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
in 1977, and is a board member at the Mercatus Center
Mercatus Center
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University in the United States is a non-profit market-oriented research, education, and outreach think tank affiliated with the Koch family. It works with policy experts, lobbyists, and government officials to connect academic learning and real-world practice...
, a market-oriented research think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
. Koch supported his brother's candidacy for Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1980. After the bid, Koch told a reporter that conventional politics "tends to be a nasty, corrupting business ... I’m interested in advancing libertarian ideas". In addition to funding think tanks, Charles and David also support libertarian academics and (since 1992) Koch funds the Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program through the Institute for Humane Studies
Institute for Humane Studies
The Institute for Humane Studies is a classical liberal non-profit organization whose stated mission is “to support the achievement of a freer society by discovering and facilitating the development of talented students, scholars, and other intellectuals who share an interest in liberty and in...
which recruits and mentors young libertarians. Koch is also chair of the Institute's board of directors. Koch also organizes twice yearly meetings of Republican donors.
Family Foundations
The Koch Family Foundations began in 1953 with the establishment of the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation. In 1980 Charles G. KochCharles G. Koch
Charles de Ganahl Koch is co-owner, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries Inc., the second-largest privately held company by revenue in the United States according to a 2010 Forbes survey...
established the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation with the stated purpose of advancing social progress and well-being through the development, application and dissemination of "the Science of Liberty," and in 1981 he inherited control of the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation when he was left in charge of Claude Lambe's estate. David H. Koch
David H. Koch
David Hamilton Koch is an American businessman, philanthropist, political activist, and chemical engineer. He is a co-owner and an executive vice president of Koch Industries, a conglomerate that is the second-largest privately held company in the U.S...
established the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation. Charles' and David's foundations have together provided hundreds of millions of dollars to a variety of organizations, including arts organizations, educational organizations, and libertarian
Libertarianism in the United States
Libertarianism in the United States is a movement promoting limited government and individual liberties. Although libertarianism exists in two major forms worldwide, right-libertarianism and left-libertarianism, right-leaning libertarianism tends to be the dominant form in the United States...
or conservative think tanks.
Political organizations
Citizens for a Sound EconomyCitizens for a Sound Economy
Citizens for a Sound Economy was a conservative political group operating in the United States, whose self-described mission was "to fight for less government, lower taxes, and less regulation." In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy split into two new organizations, with Citizens for a Sound...
was co-founded by David Koch in the 1980s, and, according to the Center for Public Integrity
Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. The Center is non-partisan and non-advocacy and committed to transparent and comprehensive reporting both in the United States and around...
, the Koch Brothers funded it with $7.9 million between 1986 and 1993. In 1990, they created the spinoff group, Citizens for the Environment.
In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy was renamed FreedomWorks
FreedomWorks
FreedomWorks is a conservative non-profit organization based in Washington D.C., United States. FreedomWorks trains volunteers, assists in campaigns, and encourages them to mobilize, interacting with both fellow citizens and their political representatives....
, while its affiliated Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation became Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity is a Washington, D.C.–based political advocacy group. According to their literature, they promote economic policy that supports business, and restrains regulation by government...
(AFP). Since then the Koch brothers have given more than one million dollars to AFP. At an AFP rally in 2009, David Koch said "Five years ago, my brother Charles and I provided the funds to start the Americans for Prosperity, and it's beyond my wildest dreams how AFP has grown into this enormous organization." AFP is the political arm of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, of which David Koch is chairman of the Board of Trustees. Americans for Prosperity created Patients United Now, which advocated against a single-payer system
Single-payer health care
Single-payer health care is medical care funded from a single insurance pool, run by the state. Under a single-payer system, universal health care for an entire population can be financed from a pool to which many parties employees, employers, and the state have contributed...
during the 2009-2010 healthcare reform
Health care reform in the United States
Health care reform in the United States has a long history, of which the most recent results were two federal statutes enacted in 2010: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , signed March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 , which amended the PPACA and...
debate. Both FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity have provided support for the Tea Party movement
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
.
Charles and David Koch also have been involved and have provided funding to a number of other think tanks and advocacy organizations: They provided initial funding for the Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
, they are key donors to the Federalist Society
Federalist Society
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, most frequently called simply the Federalist Society, is an organization of conservatives seeking reform of the current American legal system in accordance with a textualist and/or originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution...
, and also support the Mercatus Center
Mercatus Center
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University in the United States is a non-profit market-oriented research, education, and outreach think tank affiliated with the Koch family. It works with policy experts, lobbyists, and government officials to connect academic learning and real-world practice...
, the Institute for Humane Studies
Institute for Humane Studies
The Institute for Humane Studies is a classical liberal non-profit organization whose stated mission is “to support the achievement of a freer society by discovering and facilitating the development of talented students, scholars, and other intellectuals who share an interest in liberty and in...
, the Institute for Justice
Institute for Justice
The Institute for Justice is a 501 non-profit libertarian public interest law firm in the United States. Its mission is to provide pro bono legal advice and representation, litigating strategically to pursue its goal of a rule of law under which individuals can control their destinies as free and...
, the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution
Alexis de Tocqueville Institution
The Alexis de Tocqueville Institution is a Washington, D.C.–based conservative think tank that produced reports and policy research....
, the Institute for Energy Research
Institute for Energy Research
The Institute for Energy Research , is a Houston, Texas-based company that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets....
, the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment
Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment
The Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment , based in Bozeman, Montana, is a think-tank that promotes free-market environmentalism. FREE emphasizes reliance on market mechanisms and private property rights, rather than on environmental regulation, for protection of the environment...
, Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
, the Manhattan Institute
Manhattan Institute
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
, the George C. Marshall Institute
George C. Marshall Institute
The George C. Marshall Institute is a politically conservative think tank established in 1984 in Washington, D.C. with a focus on scientific issues and public policy. In the 1980s, the Institute was engaged primarily in lobbying in support of the Strategic Defense Initiative...
, the Reason Foundation
Reason Foundation
The Reason Foundation is an American nonprofit think tank founded in 1978 that also publishes Reason magazine. Based in Los Angeles, Reason is self-described as nonpartisan and publishes a statement of values that can best be described as libertarian...
and the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
.
As of 2011, David Koch sits on the board of directors of the Cato institute, the Reason Foundation
Reason Foundation
The Reason Foundation is an American nonprofit think tank founded in 1978 that also publishes Reason magazine. Based in Los Angeles, Reason is self-described as nonpartisan and publishes a statement of values that can best be described as libertarian...
and Aspen Institute
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...
.
Political activity
According to Koch Industries, it is committed to free societies and free marketFree market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
principles and supports those who champion them. For the 2012 election cycle, the Koch brothers plan to raise $88 million dollars.
Unions
Public records show that the Kochs gave more than $17 million between 1997 and 2008 to groups including the Competitive Enterprise InstituteCompetitive Enterprise Institute
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is a non-profit think tank founded on March 9, 1984 in Washington, D.C. by lobbyist Fred L. Smith, Jr to advance economic liberty and fight over-regulation by big government...
, which lobbies for legislation opposing unions.
According to Mother Jones Magazine, Koch Industries' Political Action Committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
contributed the second highest donation to Scott Walker
Scott Walker (politician)
Scott Kevin Walker is an American Republican politician who began serving as the 45th Governor of Wisconsin on January 3, 2011, after defeating Democratic candidate Tom Barrett, 52 percent to 47 percent in the November 2010 general election...
's November 2010 gubernatorial campaign
Wisconsin gubernatorial election, 2010
The 2010 Wisconsin gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin...
; in office, Walker and the Republican representatives in the Wisconsin House enacted limitations to collective bargaining
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
by public employees, leading to the 2011 Wisconsin protests
2011 Wisconsin protests
The 2011 Wisconsin protests were a series of demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin in the United States beginning in February involving at its zenith as many as 100,000 protestors opposing the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill. Subsequently, anti-tax activists and other conservatives, including tea...
. In February 2011, the New York Times reported that Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity is a Washington, D.C.–based political advocacy group. According to their literature, they promote economic policy that supports business, and restrains regulation by government...
had lobbied for Walker's proposed bill. Because of the campaign contribution, David Koch
David H. Koch
David Hamilton Koch is an American businessman, philanthropist, political activist, and chemical engineer. He is a co-owner and an executive vice president of Koch Industries, a conglomerate that is the second-largest privately held company in the U.S...
became a symbolic target for the protests.
Lobbying for oil, gas, and chemical industries
Koch employees were the largest oil and gas industry donors to Congressmen and women on the House Energy and Commerce CommitteeUnited States House Committee on Energy and Commerce
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than 200 years...
, which is responsible for legislation affecting the industry. Koch employees donated $279,500 to 22 Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
s and $32,000 to five Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
s, including $20,000 to committee chairman Fred Upton
Fred Upton
Frederick Stephen Upton is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1987. He is a member of the Republican Party and Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The district, based in Kalamazoo, stretches along the Michigan-Indiana border in the southwestern part of the state.-Early life,...
(R-Michigan). Of the six Republican members who were elected to Congress for the first time, Americans for Prosperity supported five of their campaigns. Of twelve Republicans newly appointed to the Committee, nine signed a pledge distributed by Americans for Prosperity to oppose greenhouse gas regulation.
Koch Industries and its subsidiaries spent more than $20 million on lobbying in 2008 and $12.3 million in 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics
Center for Responsive Politics
The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
, a nonpartisan research group. In an article about the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature
Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature
The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project is an effort to resolve criticism of the current records of the Earth's surface temperatures by preparing an open database and analysis of these temperatures and temperature trends, to be available online, with all calculations, methods and results...
study (Chair Richard A. Muller
Richard A. Muller
Richard A. Muller is a noted American professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a faculty senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.-Career:...
), Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reporter Margot Roosevelt
Margot Roosevelt
Margot Roosevelt is an American journalist. She worked for 13 years at The Washington Post, for 20 years at TIME, and was at the Los Angeles Times from 2007 to 2011. Her fields have included foreign affairs, US Congress, and the environment, including climate change and air pollution...
called the Koch Brothers as "the nation's most prominent funders of efforts to prevent curbs on fossil-fuel burning".
The Claude R. Lambe Foundation, has donated to the American Energy Alliance, an offshoot of the Institute for Energy Research
Institute for Energy Research
The Institute for Energy Research , is a Houston, Texas-based company that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets....
.
Free enterprise seminars
In recent years, Charles and David Koch have organized semiannual seminars to promote their political beliefs. In June 2010, for example, the event was held in Aspen, Colorado, and titled "Understanding and Addressing Threats to American Free Enterprise and Prosperity". The invitation stated that "[our] prosperity is under attack by the current Administration and many of our elected officials" and "we cannot rely on politicians to [defend our free society], so it is up to us to combat what is now the greatest assault on American freedom and prosperity in our lifetimes". The seminar program mentioned that "past meetings have featured such notable leaders as Supreme Court Justices Antonin ScaliaAntonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
and Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
; Governors Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
and Haley Barbour
Haley Barbour
Haley Reeves Barbour is an American Republican politician currently serving as the 63rd Governor of Mississippi. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Barbour won re-election as Governor in 2007...
; commentators John Stossel
John Stossel
John F. Stossel is an American consumer reporter, investigative journalist, author and libertarian columnist. In October 2009 Stossel left his long time home on ABC News to join the Fox Business Channel and Fox News Channel, both owned and operated by News Corp...
, Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer, MD is an American Pulitzer Prize–winning syndicated columnist, political commentator, and physician. His weekly column appears in The Washington Post and is syndicated to more than 275 newspapers and media outlets. He is a contributing editor to the Weekly Standard and The New...
, Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
, and Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
; Senators Jim DeMint
Jim DeMint
James Warren "Jim" DeMint is the junior U.S. Senator from South Carolina, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party and a leader in the Tea Party movement. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for from 1999 to 2005.-Early life and education:DeMint was born in...
and Tom Coburn
Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. , is an American politician, medical doctor, and Southern Baptist deacon. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. In the Senate, he is known as "Dr. No" for his tendency to place holds on and vote against bills...
; and Representatives Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan may refer to:* Paul Ryan , member of the U.S. House of Representatives* Paul Ryan , music agent for The Agency, former Cradle of Filth guitarist* Paul Ryan , comics artist...
, Mike Pence
Mike Pence
Michael Richard "Mike" Pence is the U.S. Representative for Indiana's , and previously the , serving since 2001. The 6th district covers much of Eastern Indiana. He is a member of the Republican Party....
, and Tom Price."
Anthropogenic global warming skepticism
The Charles G. Koch Foundation is (along with the Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory conducting unclassified scientific research. It is located on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills above the central campus...
and Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
climate fund) a major funder of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature
Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature
The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project is an effort to resolve criticism of the current records of the Earth's surface temperatures by preparing an open database and analysis of these temperatures and temperature trends, to be available online, with all calculations, methods and results...
project, an effort to resolve criticism of records of the Earth's surface temperatures (two of the project's seven scientists are seen as climate skeptics by many in the climate science
Climatology
Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time, and is a branch of the atmospheric sciences...
world).
Documents obtained by Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...
show that the Charles G. Koch Foundation
Koch Family Foundations
Koch Family Foundations is the informal name for a group of charities in the United States of America associated with the family of Fred C. Koch. The most prominent of these are the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, created by two of Fred C...
gave climate skeptic
Global warming controversy
Global warming controversy refers to a variety of disputes, significantly more pronounced in the popular media than in the scientific literature, regarding the nature, causes, and consequences of global warming...
Willie Soon
Willie Soon
Willie Wei-Hock Soon is an astrophysicist at the Solar and Stellar Physics Division of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Soon has testified before Congress on the issue of climate change He is known for his views that most global warming is caused by solar variation...
two grants totaling $175,000 in 2005/6 and again in 2010. Soon has stated that he has "never been motivated by financial reward in any of my scientific research."
Impact
One 1997 study by the National Committee for Responsive PhilanthropyNational Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy , established in 1976 and based in Washington, DC, is a privately-funded non-profit organization that conducts research on and advocates for greater accountability, transparency and a focus on social justice in the philanthropic sector...
identified 12 American foundations that have had a key influence on US public policy since the 1960s, particularly via their support for the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
, American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
and Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
. Three of these 12 are Koch Family Foundations
Koch Family Foundations
Koch Family Foundations is the informal name for a group of charities in the United States of America associated with the family of Fred C. Koch. The most prominent of these are the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, created by two of Fred C...
(Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation, David H. Koch Charitable Foundation). Charles Koch co-founded the Cato Institute, whilst David Koch sits on its board.