Energy and Pharmaceutical Companies Among Sponsors of ALEC Policy Meeting

Despite numerous corporations distancing themselves from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) over its controversial agenda, dozens of corporations and groups are sponsoring ALEC's "States and Nation Policy Summit" taking place this week in Washington, D.C..

The list of sponsors appeared in a series of slides during the live feed of the event’s opening lunch, which featured two members of the Trump Administration, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney.

Since 2011, more than a hundred companies have ended their funding of ALEC, including Verizon, which cut ties with the group this past September after hosting anti-muslim activist and right-wing extremist David Horowitz during its 45th annual meeting in New Orleans. A letter signed by 79 organizations sent to Verizon noted that Horowitz gave a hate-fueled speech at the event, claiming “school curricula had been turned over to racist organizations like Black Lives Matter and terrorist organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood” and defended President Trump for calling a woman a “pig.”

Sponsors from the fossil fuel industry include Peabody Energy, Duke Energy, Energy Policy Network, and Piedmont Natural Gas. The Charles Koch Institute, which is backed by CEO of Koch Industries Charles Koch, is also listed as a sponsor. The event features a packed agenda in their Energy, Environment and Agriculture task force, where legislators and corporations will vote on several "model" resolutions, including one that praises President Trump's "energy and environmental policy accomplishments," and another that declares support for "individual property owners rights regarding the development and build of energy projects upon their privately owned land."

Pharmaceutical companies and their main trade association are top sponsors of the meeting, including PhRMA, Pfizer, Celgene, and Eli Lilly.

Other notable sponsors include: Comcast, Charter Communications, UPS, Jack Daniels, Altria, FedEx and the payday loan company Advance Financial 24/7.

Below is the set of slides featuring the sponsors: