Rep. Moran says GOP requires use of cups in House cafeterias made by Koch Industries
The left has their outrage of the days as well, in this case Politifact catches Representative Jim Moran, D-VA, with his pants fully aflame.
The decision did in fact lead to a move to Styrofoam. Beyond that piece of truth, however, Moran’s claim runs into serious problems.
First, Republicans didn’t make the decision to go to Styrofoam, much less to a Koch-related company. Instead, Restaurant Associates, a company that manages the cafeterias, was given discretion to do what they wanted.
“We just said, `Look, you don’t have to use compostable — it’s not working. It’s increasing our energy, it’s not reducing our carbon emissions, and it’s costing a half a million dollars a year,’” said Salley Wood, spokeswoman for the House Administration Committee.
“Of course, they’re going to go to the most cost-effective” products, she said.
They went with WinCup, which makes Styrofoam products.
And while Dixie is a brand under Georgia-Pacific, owned by Koch Industries, WinCup has no affiliation whatsoever with Dixie apart from the fact that its owner, George Wurtz, years ago served as executive vice president at Georgia-Pacific, which was acquired by Koch Industries in 2005, a year before he left.
“Restaurant Associates is not currently using Dixie products,” said Dan Weiser, a spokesman for the House chief administrative officer.
So let’s look back.
Moran claims that upon taking the House, Republicans “required” a move to Styrofoam products made by Dixie, a brand under the Koch Industries umbrella. Problem is, he’s wrong about everything.