Florida’s former-governor-turned-presidential hopeful Jeb Bush was found to have pushed the expansion of fracking while simultaneously standing to profit from expansion, reported The Huffington Post.
“We should be celebrating this phenomenal achievement — and we do, in North Dakota, in Pennsylvania, in south and west Texas,” said Bush. “Some states, like here in New York, are choosing not to grow. They won’t approve fracking. Meanwhile, in parts of New York where huge opportunities exist for the restoration of economic activity, people languish.”
That’s quite the sales pitch. However, during that 2013 address to New York conservatives, Bush was part of a private equity group that raised $40 million to invest in a fracking company.
According to an in-depth report from the Tampa Bay Times, Bush is the co-owner of a “company that is a managing partner of FracStar Logistics, a company that provides sand for fracking.” FracStar, now known as Proforce Energy Services, was founded by Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, Jeb’s son.
That management company connected to Proforce is De Soto Partners. Bush co-owns De Soto with his other son, Jeb Bush Jr. Despite announcing last year the he was resigning from his roles on corporate and nonprofit boards, Bush still remains with De Soto, suggested the Tampa Bay Times.
However, if Bush is elected president next year, he will likely pay no attention to the environmental and health impacts posed by fracking. Last year, he spoke at a fundraiser in Colorado and lamented an initiative to ban fracking in the state.
“The idea that in Colorado you would have a referendum to eliminate hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling that creates wealth and prosperity, high-wage jobs for people in Colorado, is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard,” said Bush.
Try saying that to the thousands of people who have been negatively impacted by fracking with deadly health issues and undrinkable water. Fracking is dangerous and harmful. Bush may have “resigned” from any official duties related to fracking, but he still has a prospected campaign to run. He’s going to need that fracking money to help fund it.
