More documents for the shocked-but-not-surprised department have come to us courtesy of government-transparency group Energy Policy Advocates (EPA), obtained in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation with the Biden Administration Treasury Department.
These records were produced because they include certain phrases relating to the “climate” agenda (and/or pressure groups that love it), such as “ESG”, “climate risk”, “climate-related financial disclosures”, “exposure to climate related risks”, and “social cost of carbon”.
EPA-obtained docs previously showed that the Biden Treasury Department’s talking point to support higher tax rates — “race to the bottom” — was rolled out in coordination with a Washington Post writer. (Recently unredacted emails also show that Treasury overwithholds to keep embarrassing but plainly and purely factual information about such machinations from the public; but they’re clinging like grim death to the ‘RTTB’ redactions on just this one.)
Now take a gander at what Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin and her team found to be appropriate briefing materials for a July hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government:
It is unclear whether the “20210622 Senate FSGG Polling Doc” was provided to the Administration by the Committee, or obtained by the Administration for the hearing (either way: on whose dime?). Regardless, the polling information is withheld in full as “deliberative process materials” (🙄). That’s a shame because the contents must be fascinating.
Having taken their eyes off the ball, the administration’s polling numbers on handling the economy make even more sense after reading this. That they are seemingly monomaniacally focused on the spin over the substance — i.e., polling — and this is the result only makes one truly wonder about the competence of those at the federal till(er).