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Koch Industries has spent more than $50 million to lobby in Washington since 2006, according to the [[Center for Responsive Politics]].<ref name=flout/>
Koch Industries has spent more than $50 million to lobby in Washington since 2006, according to the [[Center for Responsive Politics]].<ref name=flout/>


The company has opposed the [[Subprime mortgage crisis solutions debate#Derivatives regulation|regulation]] of [[Derivative (finance)|financial derivatives]] and limits on [[Greenhouse gas|greenhouse gases]].<ref name=flout/> According to the Center for Responsive Politics, many of Koch Industries' contributions have gone toward achieving legislation on [[energy]] issues, [[Military|defense]] appropriations and [[financial regulatory reform]].<ref>[http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000186 OpenSecrets, Summary of Koch Industries]</ref> According to [[Greenpeace]], the company has "had a quiet but dominant role in a high-profile national policy debate on global warming," and has out-spent [[ExxonMobil]] (another corporation active in fighting climate change science and legislation) in giving money to organizations fighting legislation related to climate change. "From 2005 to 2008, ExxonMobil spent $8.9 million while the Koch Industries-controlled foundations contributed $24.9 million in funding."<ref>[http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/media-center/reports/koch-industries-secretly-fund/ Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine] . greenpeace.org . 30 March 2010]</ref><ref name="mayer">[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all Covert Operations] The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama. by Jane Mayer . newyorker.com . August 30, 2010</ref> Another [[Greenpeace]] study states that between 1997 and 2008 Koch Industries donated nearly $48&nbsp;million to groups which doubt or oppose the [[Scientific theory|theory]] of [[anthropogenic global warming]].<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/30/us-oil-donated-millions-climate-sceptics | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=US oil company donated millions to climate skeptic groups, says Greenpeace | first=John | last=Vidal | date=30 March 2010}}</ref><ref name="GP1">{{cite web |url= http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries |title=Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine |date=2010-03-29 |work=Global Warming |publisher=[[Greenpeace]] |accessdate=2010-04-01 |location=Washington}}</ref> Koch Industries replied saying the Greenpeace report "distorts the environmental record of our companies."<ref name="mayer"/>{{context-inline|reason=that refers to a different part of the same Greenpeace report|date=November 2011}}
The company has opposed the [[Subprime mortgage crisis solutions debate#Derivatives regulation|regulation]] of [[Derivative (finance)|financial derivatives]] and limits on [[Greenhouse gas|greenhouse gases]].<ref name=flout/> It sponsors [[free market]] foundations and causes.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/us/politics/20koch.html?scp=1&sq=%22koch%20industries%22%20%22free%20market%22&st=cse Secretive Republican Donors Are Planning Ahead] By KATE ZERNIKE Published: October 19, 2010, New York Times</ref> <ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/20/business/pulling-the-wraps-off-koch-industries.html?scp=2&sq=&pagewanted=5 Pulling the Wraps Off Koch Industries] By LESLIE WAYNE; Published: November 20, 1994; New York Times; " Their donations reflect their belief in libertarian and free market philosophies or their personal interests."</ref>
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, many of Koch Industries' contributions have gone toward achieving legislation on [[energy]] issues, [[Military|defense]] appropriations and [[financial regulatory reform]].<ref>[http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000186 OpenSecrets, Summary of Koch Industries]</ref> According to [[Greenpeace]], the company has "had a quiet but dominant role in a high-profile national policy debate on global warming," and has out-spent [[ExxonMobil]] (another corporation active in fighting climate change science and legislation) in giving money to organizations fighting legislation related to climate change. "From 2005 to 2008, ExxonMobil spent $8.9 million while the Koch Industries-controlled foundations contributed $24.9 million in funding."<ref>[http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/media-center/reports/koch-industries-secretly-fund/ Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine] . greenpeace.org . 30 March 2010]</ref><ref name="mayer">[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all Covert Operations] The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama. by Jane Mayer . newyorker.com . August 30, 2010</ref> Another [[Greenpeace]] study states that between 1997 and 2008 Koch Industries donated nearly $48&nbsp;million to groups which doubt or oppose the [[Scientific theory|theory]] of [[anthropogenic global warming]].<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/30/us-oil-donated-millions-climate-sceptics | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=US oil company donated millions to climate skeptic groups, says Greenpeace | first=John | last=Vidal | date=30 March 2010}}</ref><ref name="GP1">{{cite web |url= http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries |title=Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine |date=2010-03-29 |work=Global Warming |publisher=[[Greenpeace]] |accessdate=2010-04-01 |location=Washington}}</ref> Koch Industries replied saying the Greenpeace report "distorts the environmental record of our companies."<ref name="mayer"/>{{context-inline|reason=that refers to a different part of the same Greenpeace report|date=November 2011}}


One policy proposal to control global warming that Koch Industries has come out against is [[Low Carbon Fuel Standard]]s, such as were passed in 2007 in California.<ref name="Dembicki"/> According to Koch Industries, "LCFS would cripple refiners that rely on heavy crude feedstocks to provide the transportation fuels that keep America moving."<ref>http://www.kochind.com/ViewPoint/lowCarbon.aspx Low Carbon Fuel Standards</ref>
One policy proposal to control global warming that Koch Industries has come out against is [[Low Carbon Fuel Standard]]s, such as were passed in 2007 in California.<ref name="Dembicki"/> According to Koch Industries, "LCFS would cripple refiners that rely on heavy crude feedstocks to provide the transportation fuels that keep America moving."<ref>http://www.kochind.com/ViewPoint/lowCarbon.aspx Low Carbon Fuel Standards</ref>


According to a critic of the [[Mercatus Center]] and the Kochs, the political activity by some of the Koch-supported foundations -- such as [[Mercatus Center]]<ref>"Mercatus, the staunchly anti-regulatory center funded largely by Koch Industries Inc." [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071101155.html I Am OMB and I Write the Rules] By Al Kamen
According to a critic of the [[Mercatus Center]] and the Kochs, the political activity by some of the Koch-supported foundations -- such as [[Mercatus Center]]<ref>"Mercatus, the staunchly anti-regulatory center funded largely by Koch Industries Inc." [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071101155.html I Am OMB and I Write the Rules] By Al Kamen
washingtonpost.com, July 12, 2006]</ref> -- helps the company financially.{{off topic sentence|reason=Even if Mayer thinks it's important, why should we?|alleged bias}} According to Thomas McGarity, a law professor at the [[University of Texas]] who specializes in environmental issues, “Koch has been constantly in trouble with the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA), and Mercatus has constantly hammered" on the EPA.<ref name="mayer"/>{{off topic sentence|alleged bias}} The founder of the Mercatus Center, [[Richard H. Fink]], also heads Koch Industries’ lobbying operation in Washington DC.<ref name="mayer"/> According to a study by the media watchdog [[Media Matters for America]], Koch Industries (and other Koch brothers-owned companies) "have benefited from nearly a $100 million in government contracts since 2000."<ref name="mayer"/><ref>[http://politicalcorrection.org/blog/201008200001 Koch Companies Have Received Almost $100 Million In Government Contracts] August 20, 2010 — Media Matters Action Network</ref>
washingtonpost.com, July 12, 2006]</ref> -- helps the company financially.{{off topic sentence|reason=Even if Mayer thinks it's important, why should we?|alleged bias}} According to Thomas McGarity, a law professor at the [[University of Texas]] who specializes in environmental issues, “Koch has been constantly in trouble with the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA), and Mercatus has constantly hammered" on the EPA.<ref name="mayer"/>{{off topic sentence|alleged bias}} The founder of the Mercatus Center, [[Richard H. Fink]], also heads Koch Industries’ lobbying operation in Washington DC.<ref name="mayer"/> According to a study by the liberal media watchdog [[Media Matters for America]], Koch Industries (and other Koch brothers-owned companies) "have benefited from nearly a $100 million in government contracts since 2000."<ref name="mayer"/><ref>[http://politicalcorrection.org/blog/201008200001 Koch Companies Have Received Almost $100 Million In Government Contracts] August 20, 2010 — Media Matters Action Network</ref>


Koch Industries have also been active in supporting and opposing politicians, including presidents. During the US 2000 election campaign, Koch Industries spent some $900,000 to support the candidacies of [[United States presidential election, 2000|George W. Bush]] and other Republicans.{{POV-inline|How much to Democrats? At least $100,000, but I didn't find $900,000 to Republicans, so it's probably more.|date=November 2011}}<ref name="mayer"/> It has funded opposition campaigns against programs of the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]] — "from [[Health care reform debate in the United States#Elements of the reform signed in March 2010|health-care reform]] to the economic-stimulus"<ref name="mayer"/>. The Koch Industries website includes an opinion piece from the [[Wall Street Journal]] by [[Charles Koch]], one of the company's owners, "Why Koch Industries is Speaking Out"<ref>[http://webreprints.djreprints.com/2630340769761.pdf Why Koch Industries is Speaking Out] Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2011</ref> The article states:
Koch Industries have also been active in supporting and opposing politicians, including presidents. During the US 2000 election campaign, Koch Industries spent some $900,000 to support the candidacies of [[United States presidential election, 2000|George W. Bush]] and other Republicans.{{POV-inline|How much to Democrats? At least $100,000, but I didn't find $900,000 to Republicans, so it's probably more.|date=November 2011}}<ref name="mayer"/> It has funded opposition campaigns against programs of the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]] — "from [[Health care reform debate in the United States#Elements of the reform signed in March 2010|health-care reform]] to the economic-stimulus"<ref name="mayer"/>. The Koch Industries website includes an opinion piece from the [[Wall Street Journal]] by [[Charles Koch]], one of the company's owners, "Why Koch Industries is Speaking Out"<ref>[http://webreprints.djreprints.com/2630340769761.pdf Why Koch Industries is Speaking Out] Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2011</ref> The article states:

Revision as of 03:59, 11 December 2011

Koch Industries, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryConglomerate
Founded1940
HeadquartersWichita, Kansas, USA
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Charles G. Koch (Chairman, CEO, & 42% owner)
David H. Koch (Executive VP, & 42% owner)
ProductsPetroleum
Chemicals
Energy
Asphalt
Natural gas
Plastics
Fibers
Minerals
Fertilizers
Ranching
Pulp and paper
Finance
Commodities trading[1]
RevenueIncreaseUS$100 billion (2009)[2]
Number of employees
70,000 (2009)[1]
WebsiteKochind.com

Koch Industries, Inc. (/ˈkoʊk/), 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. Koch companies are involved in core industries such as the manufacturing, refining and distribution[1] of petroleum, chemicals, energy, fiber, intermediates and polymers, minerals, fertilizers, pulp and paper, chemical technology equipment, ranching,[3] finance, commodities trading, as well as other ventures and investments. The firm employs 50,000 people in the United States and another 20,000 in 59 other countries.[4]

In 2008, Forbes called it the second largest privately held company in the United States (after Cargill) with an annual revenue of about $98 billion,[5][6][7] down from the largest in 2006. If Koch Industries were a public company in 2007, it would rank about 16 in the Fortune 500.[8]

Fred C. Koch, for whom Koch Industries, Inc. is named, co-founded the company in 1940 and developed an innovative crude oil refining process.[9] His sons, Charles G. Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and David H. Koch, executive vice president, are principal owners of the company after they bought out their brothers, Frederick and William, for $1.1 billion in 1983.[10] Charles and David H. Koch each own 42% of Koch Industries, and Charles has stated that the company will publicly offer shares "literally over my dead body".[5]

History

Predecessor companies

In 1925, Fred C. Koch joined MIT classmate Lewis E. Winkler at an engineering firm in Wichita, Kansas, which was renamed the Winkler-Koch Engineering Company. In 1927 they developed a more efficient thermal cracking process for turning crude oil into gasoline. This process threatened the competitive advantage of established oil companies, which sued for patent infringement. Temporarily forced out of business in the United States, they turned to other markets, including the Soviet Union, where Winkler-Koch built 15 cracking units between 1929 and 1932. During this time, Koch came to despise communism and Joseph Stalin's regime.[11][12] In his 1960 book, A Business Man Looks at Communism, Koch wrote that he found the USSR to be "a land of hunger, misery, and terror."[13] According to Charles G. Koch, "Virtually every engineer he worked with [there] was purged."[12]

In 1940, Koch joined new partners to create a new firm, the Wood River Oil and Refining Company, which is today known as Koch Industries. In 1946 the firm acquired the Rock Island refinery and crude oil gathering system near Duncan, Oklahoma. Wood River was later renamed the Rock Island Oil & Refining Company.[14] Charles G. Koch joined Rock Island in 1961, having started his career at the management consulting firm Arthur D. Little. He became president in 1966 and chairman at age 32, upon his father's death the following year.[9][15]

Koch Industries

The company was renamed Koch Industries in honor of Fred Koch, the year after his death. At that time, it was primarily an engineering firm with part interest in a Minnesota refinery, a crude oil-gathering system in Oklahoma,[12] and some cattle ranches.[16] In 1968, Charles approached Union Oil of California about buying their interest in Great Northern Oil Company and its Pine Bend Refinery but the discussions quickly stalled after Union asked for a large premium.[11] In 1969, Union Oil began trying to market their interest in Great Northern by telling potential buyers that Koch's controlling interest could be thwarted by currying favor with another owner, J. Howard Marshall II. When Marshall discovered this he threw his lot in with Koch, they together acquired a majority interest in the company and ultimately bought Union's interest.[14] Ownership of Pine Bend refinery led to several new businesses and capabilities, including chemicals, fibers, polymers, asphalt and other commodities such as petroleum coke and sulfur. These were followed by global commodity trading, gas liquids processing, real estate, pulp and paper, risk management and finance.[11]

In 1970, Charles was joined at the family firm by his brother David H. Koch. Having started as a technical services manager, David became president of Koch Engineering in 1979.

Subsidiaries

Among Koch Industries' subsidiaries across various industries[17] are:

  • Georgia-Pacific paper and pulp company, maker of "Brawny" paper towels, "Angel Soft" toilet paper, "Mardi Gras" napkins and towels, "Quilted Northern" toilet paper and paper towels, "Dixie" paper plates, bowls, napkins and cups, "Sparkle" paper towels, and "Vanity Fair" paper napkins, bowls, plates and tablecloths. The Atlanta-based company has operations in 27 states.[18]
  • Invista, a polymer and fibers company that makes "Stainmaster" carpet, and "Lycra" fiber, among other products.
  • Koch Pipeline Company LP, which owns and operates 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of pipeline used to transport oil, natural gas liquids and chemicals. Its pipelines are located across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alberta, Canada. The firm operates offices in Wichita, Kansas, St. Paul, Minnesota and Corpus Christi, Texas.
  • Flint Hill Resources LP, is a major refining and chemicals company based in Wichita, Kansas. It sells products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol, polymers, intermediate chemicals, base oils and asphalt. It operates oil refineries in six states. Flint Hill has chemical plants in Illinois, Texas and Michigan. The firm is also a major manufacturer of asphalt used for paving and roofing applications. It operates 13 asphalt terminals located in six states including Alaska (2 terminals), Wisconsin (2), Iowa (3), Minnesota (4), Nebraska (1), and North Dakota(1).[19] The firm manages the purchasing of domestic crude oil from Texas and Colorado offices, has four ethanol plants across Iowa, operates three refineries in Alaska, Texas, and Minnesota, and has a refinery terminal in Alaska. The Minnesota refinery can process 320,000 barrels (51,000 m3) of crude a day, most of which comes from from Alberta, and handles one quarter of all Tar Sands crude entering the U.S.[20] It also operates fuel terminals in Wisconsin (4 locations), Texas (6), and one each in Iowa and Minnesota.[21]
  • Koch Fertilizer, LLC, which is one of the world’s largest makers of nitrogen fertilizers.[22] Koch Fertilizer owns or has interests in fertilizer plants the United States, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and Italy, among others.[23][24] In October 2010, a plant in Venezuela was nationalized by the government.[25]
  • Koch Agricultural Company's Matador Cattle Company division operates three ranches totaling 425,000 acres (1,720 km2) located in Beaverhead, Montana, Matador, Texas and the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas. There are more than 15,000 head of cattle raised on the ranches.[26]

Environmental and safety record

From 1999 to 2003, Koch Industries was assessed "more than $400 million in fines, penalties and judgments."[27]

Pipeline accidents

Koch Industries was fined $35 million for 300 alleged pipeline spills across six states from 1990 to 1997, adding up to 3 million US gallons (11,000 m3) of oil. The US Government had originally proposed fining Koch $71 million to $214 million in penalties for violations of the Clean Water Act by those spills.[28]

Koch's Sterling butane pipeline had a leak in Lively, Texas, on August 24, 1996. Two teenagers on the way to report the leak drove into the unseen butane cloud, and were killed when the gas exploded and burned. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that severe external pipeline corrosion was the cause of the failure, and recommended to Koch to improve corrosion evaluation procedures. Although Koch distributed pamphlets about safety around the pipelines, they failed to maintain an up-to-date mailing list. Only 5 out of 45 residences in the area of the accident had received pamphlets. The families of the dead had not.[29][30]

In 1999, a Texas jury found that negligence had led to the rupture of the Koch pipeline that fueled the explosion killing the two teenagers, and awarded a $296 million verdict — "the largest compensatory damages judgment in a wrongful death case against a corporation in U.S. history".[27]

In a statement released in 2010, Koch Industries responded to the criticisms in Jane Mayer's article in The New Yorker, “Covert Operations: The Billionaire Brothers Who are Waging a War Against Obama,”

The August, 1996 pipeline accident in Texas was a tragedy. Koch accepted responsibility immediately for the incident, which is the only event of its kind in the company’s history. The thorough review conducted of this pipeline the year before the accident did not uncover any issues that posed a foreseeable threat to public safety. The bacteria-induced corrosion that caused the accident acted more quickly to damage this pipeline than had ever been documented by any industry expert. Koch’s cooperative efforts to identify the source and cause of this problem so that this knowledge could be shared throughout industry were praised by the National Transportation Safety Board, which did a two-year investigation into this incident.[31]

Pollution and resource fines

In March 1999, Koch Petroleum Group, a Koch Industries subsidiary, pled guilty to charges that it had negligently dumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of aviation fuel into wetlands near the Mississippi River from its refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota, and that it had also illegally dumped a million gallons of high-ammonia wastewater onto the ground and into the Mississippi River. Koch Petroleum paid the Dakota County Park System a $6 million fine and $2 million in remediation costs, and was ordered to serve three years of probation.[32]

In 1999, a federal jury found that Koch Industries had stolen oil from government and American Indian lands, had lied about its purchases more than 24,000 times, and was fined $553,504.[33]

In January 2000, a Koch Industries subsidiary, Koch Pipeline, agreed to a $35 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and the State of Texas. This settlement, including a $30 million civil fine, was incurred for the firm's three hundred oil spills in Texas and five other states going back to 1990.[34][35][36] The spills resulted in more than 3 million US gallons (11,000 m3) of crude oil leaking into ponds, lakes, streams and coastal waters.[37]

In 2001, the company reached two settlements with the government. In April, the company reached a $20 million settlement in exchange for admitting to covering up environmental violations at its refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas.[38][39] That May, Koch Industries paid $25 million to the federal government to settle a federal lawsuit that found the company had improperly taken more oil than it had paid for from federal and Indian land.[33][40]

In June 2003, the US Commerce Department fined Koch Industries subsidiary Flint Hill Resources a $200,000 civil penalty. The fine settled charges that the company exported crude petroleum from the US to Canada without proper US government authorization. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said from July 1997 to March 1999, Koch Petroleum (later called Flint Hill Resources) committed 40 violations of Export Administration Regulations.[41]

In 2006, Koch Industries’ subsidiary Flint Hill Resources was fined nearly $16,000 by the EPA for 10 separate violations of the Clean Air Act at its Alaska oil refinery facilities, and required to spend another $60,000 on safety equipment needed to help prevent future violations.[42]

In 2007, Koch Nitrogen's plant in Enid, Oklahoma, was listed as the third highest company releasing toxic chemicals in Oklahoma, according to the EPA, ranking behind Perma-Fix Environmental Services in Tulsa and Weyerhaeuser Co. in Valliant.[43] The facility produces about 10% of the US national production of anhydrous ammonia, as well as urea and UAN.[44]

In 2010, Koch Industries was ranked 10th on the list of top US corporate air polluters, the "Toxic 100 Air Polluters", by the Political Economic Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[45]

Awards and certifications

According to its website, Koch Industries and its subsidiaries received 289 stewardship awards over the two years ending January 2011.[46]

Koch Industries' headquarters in Wichita has been certified for meeting the Energy Star standards for superior energy efficiency and environmental protection. As of 2010 it is the only Wichita office building to be so recognized.[47][48] A Tulsa, Oklahoma site of the Koch-owned John Zink Company site was part of the EPA's National Environmental Performance Track program from 2003 until 2009 when the program was suspended.[49][50]

In 2005, Koch's Flint Hills Resources refinery was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Awards program for reducing air emissions by 50 percent while expanding operations.[51] The EPA has worked with Flint Hills Resources to develop "strategies for curtailing so-called 'upset' emissions, in what agency and company sources say could lead to guidance to minimize such emissions from petroleum refineries and other industrial facilities."[52] The EPA described the process as a "model for other companies."[53]

Koch's Matador Ranch in Texas earned the Lone Star Land Steward award for outstanding natural resource management in 2010.[54] The Montana ranch has earned several environmental stewardship awards, including the EPA Regional Administrator's award.[55]

In 2011, the Midway-Kansas Chapter of the American Red Cross awarded Koch Industries with a Corporate Excellence Award for its long-standing commitment to the humanitarian mission of Red Cross.[56]

In 2008, Koch Industries discovered that the French affiliate Koch-Glitsch had violated bribery laws allegedly securing contracts in Algeria, Egypt, India, Morocco, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. However, Ethics Compliance officer "Egorova-Farines wasn’t rewarded for bringing the illicit payments to the company’s attention. Her superiors removed her from the inquiry in August 2008 and fired her in June 2009, calling her incompetent, even after Koch’s investigators substantiated her findings. She sued Koch-Glitsch in France for wrongful termination."[27] In response, Mark Holden, Koch Industries general counsel, said the subsidiary, Koch-Glitsch, completed its investigation and terminated the four employees involved. Egorova-Farines, however, was not fired but instead left the company to go on leave and never returned. She sued the company and lost in French court and was ordered to pay costs for bringing a frivolous case. Moreover, Holden points out that Egorova-Farines failed to bring the violations to the attention of her managers immediately, choosing instead to give the information to a manager at Koch-Glitsch who was later fired for bribery. Egorova-Farines' delay in reporting the matter cost the company another fine.[57]

In May 2011, a Utah judge dismissed a Koch Industries lawsuit alleging that Youth For Climate Truth, in releasing a fake Koch Industries press release, had infringed on Koch Industries' trademark.[58]

Political activity

See also: Political activities of the Koch family

Koch Industries has spent more than $50 million to lobby in Washington since 2006, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.[27]

The company has opposed the regulation of financial derivatives and limits on greenhouse gases.[27] It sponsors free market foundations and causes.[59] [60] According to the Center for Responsive Politics, many of Koch Industries' contributions have gone toward achieving legislation on energy issues, defense appropriations and financial regulatory reform.[61] According to Greenpeace, the company has "had a quiet but dominant role in a high-profile national policy debate on global warming," and has out-spent ExxonMobil (another corporation active in fighting climate change science and legislation) in giving money to organizations fighting legislation related to climate change. "From 2005 to 2008, ExxonMobil spent $8.9 million while the Koch Industries-controlled foundations contributed $24.9 million in funding."[62][63] Another Greenpeace study states that between 1997 and 2008 Koch Industries donated nearly $48 million to groups which doubt or oppose the theory of anthropogenic global warming.[64][65] Koch Industries replied saying the Greenpeace report "distorts the environmental record of our companies."[63][needs context]

One policy proposal to control global warming that Koch Industries has come out against is Low Carbon Fuel Standards, such as were passed in 2007 in California.[20] According to Koch Industries, "LCFS would cripple refiners that rely on heavy crude feedstocks to provide the transportation fuels that keep America moving."[66]

According to a critic of the Mercatus Center and the Kochs, the political activity by some of the Koch-supported foundations -- such as Mercatus Center[67] -- helps the company financially.[relevant to this paragraph? – discuss] According to Thomas McGarity, a law professor at the University of Texas who specializes in environmental issues, “Koch has been constantly in trouble with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Mercatus has constantly hammered" on the EPA.[63][relevant to this paragraph? – discuss] The founder of the Mercatus Center, Richard H. Fink, also heads Koch Industries’ lobbying operation in Washington DC.[63] According to a study by the liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America, Koch Industries (and other Koch brothers-owned companies) "have benefited from nearly a $100 million in government contracts since 2000."[63][68]

Koch Industries have also been active in supporting and opposing politicians, including presidents. During the US 2000 election campaign, Koch Industries spent some $900,000 to support the candidacies of George W. Bush and other Republicans.[neutrality is disputed][63] It has funded opposition campaigns against programs of the Obama administration — "from health-care reform to the economic-stimulus"[63]. The Koch Industries website includes an opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal by Charles Koch, one of the company's owners, "Why Koch Industries is Speaking Out"[69] The article states:

Because of our activism, we've been vilified by various groups. Despite this criticism, we're determined to keep contributing and standing up for those politicians, like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who are taking these challenges [deficit spending by governments] seriously.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Koch Industries Welcomes 2009 Leadership Kansas Class" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  2. ^ "Forbes Magazine Profile for America's Top 100 Private Companies". Forbes.com. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  3. ^ "Koch Industries, Inc - Industry Areas". Kochind.com. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  4. ^ Continetti, Matthew (April 4, 2011). "The Paranoid Style in Liberal Politics". The Weekly Standard.
  5. ^ a b Fisher, Daniel (Mar. 13, 2006). "Mr. Big", pp. 24–26. Forbes. Online summary for calendar year 2005 at [1].
  6. ^ "America's Largest Private Companies". Forbes. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  7. ^ "Forbes rankings for 2009". Forbes.com. 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  8. ^ "The Principled Entrepreneur". The American. July–August 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  9. ^ a b "Summary of Koch Industries History". sec.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 14 November 2005. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  10. ^ The Top 10 Forbes Asia October 19, 2009
  11. ^ a b c Koch, Charles C. (2007). The Science of Success: How Market-Based Management Built the World's Largest Private Company. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-470-13988-2. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ a b c Daniel Fisher (13 March 2006). "Mr. Big". Forbes.
  13. ^ Koch, Fred C. (1960). A Business Man Looks at Communism. Wichita, Kansas. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ a b J. Howard, Marshall II (1994). Done in Oil: An Autobiography. College Station: Texas A&M University Press. p. 254. ISBN 0890965331. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ Bruce Upbin; Brandon Copple (14 December 1998). "Creative destruction 101". Forbes.
  16. ^ John, Lincoln (1989). Rich Grass and Sweet Water. College Station: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 0-89096-387-8.
  17. ^ Koch Industries website, Industry Areas, accessed Aug 25 2010,
  18. ^ Georgia Pacific website, accessed March 11, 2011, Georgia-Pacific Company Overview
  19. ^ Flint Hill Resources website, accessed March 11, 2011, FHR Asphalt
  20. ^ a b Dembicki, Geoff (March 22, 2011). "The Kochs: Oil Sands Billionaires Bankrolling US Right". The Tyee. Vancouver, B.C. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
  21. ^ Koch Industries website, accessed March 11, 2011, http://www.fhr.com/newsroom/contact.aspx?ID=9
  22. ^ Koch Fertilizer website, accessed March 11, 2011, http://www.kochfertilizer.com/
  23. ^ Yasha Levine (1 September 2010). "7 Ways the Koch Bros. Benefit from Corporate Welfare". The New York Observer.
  24. ^ "Fertilizers".
  25. ^ "Koch Industries says no word on Venezuela takeover". Reuters. 11 October 2010.
  26. ^ Koch Industries website, accessed March 11, 2011, Ranching
  27. ^ a b c d e Loder, Asjylyn (3 October 2011). "Koch Brothers Flout Law With Secret Iran Sales". Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Retrieved 5 October 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ "Oil pipeline operator to pay fee". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. January 14, 2000.
  29. ^ Pipeline Rupture, Liquid Butane Release, and Fire, Lively, Texas, August 24, 1996[dead link]
  30. ^ "Austin news, sports, weather, Longhorns, business". Statesman.com. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  31. ^ "Koch Industries Responds to New Yorker Claims". Newsmax Media. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  32. ^ "Koch Petroleum Group Sentenced for Minnesota Pollution" (Press release). Environmental Protection Agency. 9 March 2000. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  33. ^ a b CBS (27 November 2000). "Blood and Oil". 60 Minutes.
  34. ^ "Koch Pipeline Company L.P. - Newsroom". Kochpipeline.com. 2000-01-13. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  35. ^ By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz and Jeff Nesmith (2001-07-23). "Austin news, sports, weather, Longhorns, business". Statesman.com. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  36. ^ "Koch Agrees to $35 Million Settlement in Two Environmental Cases". Safety Online. 17 January 2000.
  37. ^ "Koch Industries to Pay Record Fine for Oil Spills in Six States" (Press release). Environmental Protection Agency. 13 January 2000. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  38. ^ "Koch Pleads Guilty to Covering up Environmental Violations at Texas Oil Refinery". justice.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. 9 April 2001. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  39. ^ Don Richards (22 January 2001). "DOJ Reduces Indictments Against Koch Industries". ICIS.
  40. ^ Russell Ray (20 June 2001). "Tribe Likely to Get Piece of Settlement in Osage County, Okla., Oil Squabble". Tulsa World.
  41. ^ US Dept of Commerce, Commerce Dept Fines Kansas Firm, June 3, 2003 press release, http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2003/kansasfirmfined.htm
  42. ^ EPA Press Release, EPA Fines Flint Hill Resources Alaska, Dec 13 2006, accessed Aug 25 2010, http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/b0789fb70f8ff03285257029006e3880/6b191200b3ce87e2852572430062f987!OpenDocument
  43. ^ "EPA Reports Toxic Releases to Air, Water and Land in Oklahoma in 2007". Environmental Protection Agency. 2009-03-19.
  44. ^ Voorhis, Dan (2010-12-16). "Fertilizer Helps Koch Grow". Wichita Eagle.
  45. ^ cite press release |title= Toxic 100 Air Polluters |date= March 31, 2010 |url= http://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic_press/ |accessdate= }}
  46. ^ "Koch Companies Recognized with 289 Stewardship Awards since 2009" press release, January 24, 2011.
  47. ^ "Koch Industries Inc., Earns Prestigious Energy Star for Efficiencies at Wichita Complex" (Press release). Koch Industries. 17 June 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
  48. ^ "ENERGY STAR Labeled Offices in Kansas". energystar.gov. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  49. ^ "Process and Pollution Control". kochenergy.com. Koch Industries. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  50. ^ "Performance Track Final Progress Report" (PDF). epa.gov. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. May 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  51. ^ Jessica Harper (18 November 2009). "Flint Hills is coming out of murky waters". Dakota County Tribune.
  52. ^ "Inside EPA's Clean Air Report". InsideEPA. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  53. ^ "Flint Hills Resources, LP Agrees to Transition Its Texas Flexible Permits to Federally Approved Clean Air Act Permits - Transition affects facilities in Corpus Christi, Port Arthur and Longview". EPA. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  54. ^ "Lone Star Land Steward Awards Winners Announced" (Press release). Texas Parks & Wildlife. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  55. ^ "EPA Honors Koch Ranch for Environmental Excellence; Award is Ranch's Fourth Major Environmental Honor in 1999" (Press release). Koch Industries. 7 June 1999. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  56. ^ Heck, Josh (18 May 2011). "Red Cross Recognizes three fundraisers". Wichita Business Journal. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  57. ^ Rubin, Jennifer. "Koch responds to Bloomberg". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  58. ^ "SUMMARY JUDGMENTS: Our daily legal-news aggregator for May 11, 2011" Thompson Reuters News and Insight
  59. ^ Secretive Republican Donors Are Planning Ahead By KATE ZERNIKE Published: October 19, 2010, New York Times
  60. ^ Pulling the Wraps Off Koch Industries By LESLIE WAYNE; Published: November 20, 1994; New York Times; " Their donations reflect their belief in libertarian and free market philosophies or their personal interests."
  61. ^ OpenSecrets, Summary of Koch Industries
  62. ^ Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine . greenpeace.org . 30 March 2010]
  63. ^ a b c d e f g Covert Operations The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama. by Jane Mayer . newyorker.com . August 30, 2010
  64. ^ Vidal, John (30 March 2010). "US oil company donated millions to climate skeptic groups, says Greenpeace". The Guardian. London.
  65. ^ "Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine". Global Warming. Washington: Greenpeace. 2010-03-29. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
  66. ^ http://www.kochind.com/ViewPoint/lowCarbon.aspx Low Carbon Fuel Standards
  67. ^ "Mercatus, the staunchly anti-regulatory center funded largely by Koch Industries Inc." I Am OMB and I Write the Rules By Al Kamen washingtonpost.com, July 12, 2006]
  68. ^ Koch Companies Have Received Almost $100 Million In Government Contracts August 20, 2010 — Media Matters Action Network
  69. ^ Why Koch Industries is Speaking Out Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2011
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