Taylor Calls Sierra Club sell-outs; takes criticism from Alabama

Gene Taylor says the Sierra Club and American Rivers are selling out their members to the Bermuda reinsurance industry. He says they have joined a front group called Americans for Smart Natural Catastrophe Policy to oppose his multi-perils insurance legislation. Read all about it: Slabbed: The Sierra Club Chips in With Bermuda Reinsurers, Opposes HR 1264. Here is from a press release from Taylor's congressional office.

Americans for Smart Natural Catastrophe Policy appears to be a front group funded by the Bermuda reinsurance industry and their investors and partners in the U.S. insurance industry. The lobbyists for the Sierra Club and American Rivers are selling out their members without giving them relevant information.

---

Al.com: Taylor defends stance on LCS, tanker

U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi isn't winning any friends across the state line in Mobile.

Taylor, a Democrat from Bay St. Louis, has antagonized Alabama officials on two key projects that could each have a huge impact on the Gulf Coast economy.

Taylor last week lit into the Navy's littoral combat ship program, aiming more than a few sharp words at Austal USA. The Mobile shipbuilder is bidding to become the contractor of choice for up to 55 of the cutting-edge vessels -- a project that could create 1,000 jobs and provide long-term stability for one of Mobile's largest employers.

Taylor ripped Austal for cost overruns on its version of the LCS, one of two designs the Navy is evaluating, and said the company "is not taking the steps needed to modernize its production."

Taylor has also frustrated area business leaders by refusing to help push for an aircraft assembly plant in Mobile.

The $600 million, 1,500-worker project hinges on Northrop Grumman Corp. winning a contract to build refueling tankers for the Air Force. Northrop and its backers are waging a fierce, politically charged battle against Boeing Co. for the tanker work.

Taylor's silence has vexed the Northrop side because the project could bring thousands of high- paying aerospace jobs to the Gulf Coast and across the Southeast.

So what gives?

Local speculation is that Taylor's criticism of the LCS program is motivated by a desire to help one of his biggest political patrons. Taylor's district includes Northrop's Ingalls shipyard, which could gain a piece of the LCS contract if it is opened to competition -- a move Taylor proposed during a congressional hearing last week.

Taylor's refusal to endorse Northrop's tanker, according to team members, is tied to a seemingly unrelated issue -- insurance reform. Taylor has led a crusade against the insurance industry for allegedly failing to meet its obligations following Hurricane Katrina.