KOCH RUSH IN THE SILVER STATE As Elvis might sing, Charles and David Koch “got a whole lot of money that’s ready to burn,” and, not to be outshone by fellow billionaire political donor and Las Vegas Sands Corporation CEO Sheldon Adelson, they’re using their resources to expand the reach of their industrial-political network across the Silver State. Koch Industries has assets in Nevada, drawn to the state by natural resources and favorable tax policies. Politically, The Koch brothers have long had a voice in Nevada through the State Policy Network’s Nevada Policy Research Institute (NPRI), and in recent years have sought to move more aggressively into the increasingly important early primary and swing state. The network’s expansion into Nevada includes partnerships with Adelson’s political team, as well as a new corporate location and extensive electoral work by Koch-funded front groups Americans for Prosperity, Concerned Veterans for America, and the LIBRE Initiative. The Kochs expanded their corporate empire into Nevada with their 2005 purchase of Georgia-Pacific, which maintains a facility in North Las Vegas focused on the manufacture of drywall. The company, whose North Las Vegas facility has spent several recent quarters in violation of the Clean Air Act, was the focus of lawsuits in 2009 when tainted drywall that affected homeowners throughout Nevada and the rest of the country was traced back to Georgia-Pacific, which eventually settled a lawsuit. And in 2014, Koch Business Solutions announced a new Reno facility, coordinated by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, whose method of connecting businesses to state and local tax incentives to attract them to Nevada had been relentlessly attacked as cronyism by the Koch-affiliated NPRI. But Koch Industries’ involvement in Nevada pales in comparison to the reach of the brothers’ political empire. NPRI, which has received extensive Koch-network funding as a member of the State Policy Network, has spent years pushing the Kochs’ agenda in the state, attacking the state government as bloated even as it ranked as the “leanest state government in the country,” and lobbying to fight business taxes and cut education spending while the government starved for resources and students struggled. At one point, NPRI suggested offering businesses tax credits to set up on-site schools, such as “Harrah’s High School.” NPRI’s contributions to Nevada’s policy debates have been described by Democrats, Republicans, and independent commentators alike as “idiotic,” “thoughtless,” “snarky sneering,” and “ideological hackery” from “narrow minds.” Political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston once remarked that NPRI’s “overweening hypocrisy” was “polluting the dialogue.” One focus of the Koch network’s Nevada efforts is a vicious attack on public lands, which polling shows is clearly more of a corporate priority than one held by Nevadans. Together with the American Legislative Exchange Council and the American Lands Council, which received Americans for Prosperity funding, Koch-backed NPRI pushed for the transfer of federally- controlled lands to state governments, where the lands would then be sold to private corporations for whatever their billionaire owners desire; the Kochs, for instance, own several companies focused on natural resource extraction and would love to get their hands on this land. This opportunity for more profits led the Americans for Prosperity affiliate in Nevada to quickly praise the anti-government extremist rancher Cliven Bundy’s refusal to recognize federal land ownership, only to scrub their support after Bundy offered some antiquated (to put it mildly) thoughts on the upside of slavery. Siding with a slavery sympathizer didn’t dissuade AFP’s further involvement in Nevada politics. It didn’t stop them from interfering in Nevada by voicing support for legislation opening Yucca Mountain up for nuclear waste disposal. And it didn’t affect the involvement of any other Koch-funded front group. The Koch network has long antagonized Sen. Harry Reid, while at the same time boosting the political ambitions (and coffers) of Representative Joe Heck. When Nevada Republicans made a bid for Reid’s seat in 2010, it was a former NPRI staffer they chose in Sharron Angle, who received support from numerous Koch groups. All the while, the Kochs’ LIBRE Initiative has been building the GOP’s voter rolls through “community events” designed to get the contact information of Latino voters in Nevada under the guise of helping the community, while opposing policies that actually benefit Latinos. Other groups operate in similar ways: AFP endorsed the Ryan Budget, which an independent analysis found would increase Medicare premiums by over $100 for over half of Nevada beneficiaries, and Concerned Veterans for America supported voucherizing the healthcare veterans receive from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which serves over 225,000 Nevadans. With the looming retirement of Sen. Reid and Nevada’s swing-state status, Nevadans can only look forward to more of the “Koch Rush in the Silver State” as the 2016 campaign heats up. In Vegas – everyone can be a winner. But if the Kochs have their way, the only winners in Nevada will be the Kochs and their billionaire friends. Contents Koch Rush In The Silver State .................................................................................................. 1 Koch Industries ......................................................................................................................... 3 Georgia-Pacific ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Koch Business Solutions .............................................................................................................................. 5 Koch Nonprofit Political Activity In Nevada ........................................................................... 6 Citizens For A Sound EconoMy And FreedomWorks ................................................................................. 6 AMericans For Prosperity ............................................................................................................................. 8 LIBRE Initiative .......................................................................................................................................... 18 AMerican Legislative Exchange Council ................................................................................................... 35 Freedom Partners ....................................................................................................................................... 37 Concerned Veterans For AMerica .............................................................................................................. 38 AMerican Lands Council ............................................................................................................................ 42 Sheldon Adelson Partnership ..................................................................................................................... 49 Nevada Policy Research Institute .............................................................................................................. 52 Koch Lobbying ............................................................................................................................................ 81 Charles Koch Op-Ed ................................................................................................................................... 81 Koch Electoral Activity In Nevada ......................................................................................... 83 Opposition to Sen. Harry Reid ................................................................................................................... 83 Sharron Angle Support ............................................................................................................................... 84 Joe Heck Support........................................................................................................................................ 84 Cresent Hardy Support ............................................................................................................................... 86 Local Candidate Support & Opposition .................................................................................................... 87 Impact Of Kochs’ National Issue Advocacy On Nevada ...................................................... 88 Medicare, Medicaid & Social Security ....................................................................................................... 88 KOCH INDUSTRIES Georgia-Pacific GypsuM LLC Had A Facility In North Las Vegas. According to the EPA’s ECHO Database, Georgia- Pacific Gypsum LLC was located at 11401 US Highway 91, North Las Vegas, Nevada 89030. [EPA ECHO Database, accessed 7/22/15] Koch Business Solutions Opened An Office In Reno. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “Koch Business Solutions, a shared-services company for subsidiaries of Koch Industries Inc., will open a new satellite applications center in Reno. The announcement was made Thursday at the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada investors luncheon at the Peppermill. The company plans to hire about 20 people in the first year.” [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 3/13/15] Georgia-Pacific ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS Georgia-Pacific GypsuM In North Las Vegas