The State Policy Network (SPN), founded in 1992, is a collection of conservative and right leaning think tanks. It consists of almost 70 affiliates and over 90 associated organizations. SPN believes in restoring the balance of power between “powerful elites” in Washington, DC, and state governments. Originally founded as the Madison Group, the goal of the State Policy Network was to create mini Heritage Foundations in each state.
Climate Change:
A large number of members of the State Policy Network either deny climate change outright or deny the extent to which climate change will affect the environment. Many of their member organizations accept donations from the Koch Foundations. Associated organizations that either deny climate change entirely or deny the extent of it are the Atlas Network, the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Charles Koch Institute, the Heartland Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Independence Institute, the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, and the Reason Foundation.
Here are a few statements on climate change made by some of the organizations supported by the State Policy Network:
The Heartland Institute says that “Global warming is not a crisis. The threat was exaggerated” and that “there is no need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and no point in attempting to do so.” Heartland has maintained this stance since its foundation. In the past, Heartland has claimed that “a modest amount of global warming, should it occur, would be beneficial to the natural world and to human civilization.” The State Policy Network has reposted many of the Heartland Institute’s articles, and SPN also writes about different Heartland events, such as “Heartland Institute counters climate alarmism at UN conference in Spain” and “Heartland to provide ‘counter programming’ at United Nations conference.”
The Heritage Foundation does admit that climate change is happening and that “human activity undoubtedly plays a role.” However, the Foundation downplays the extent to which climate change is happening, and they advocate for policies that would accelerate climate change, claiming that the suggested policies are costly and ineffective. On their website, on a page titled “The Right Way to Ensure a Cleaner Environment,” the Foundation maintains the position that the “apocalyptic warnings” and “alarmist, catastrophic predictions” of climate change have “consistently failed” to come to fruition.
The Manhattan Institute also accepts climate science, but they do not believe that suggested solutions are, or will be effective. The Manhattan Institute believes that people, specifically politicians, exaggerate the problem of climate change. According to the Institute, politicians frame climate change in a way that makes it seem much worse than it actually is, and that there are other problems that deserve our attention.. Since climate change isn’t definite, according to the Institute, policy proposals should focus on issues that pose definite problems now, like the overuse of antibiotics.
Outreach:
The main method of outreach by the State Policy Network is by promoting the publications and conferences of their affiliated and associated institutions. Additionally, SPN provides funding to start-up nonprofits and think tanks that align with their values.
In their 2020 Annual Report, the State Policy Network said that one of their key issues for 2021 is to address energy and land use challenges, saying that SPN will help to “develop a positive vision for free-market energy and land use” for local leaders rather than “one-size fits all mandates from Washington, DC.” Because SPN focuses on deregulation, the focus of previous years has included “opposing President Obama’s … climate-change regulations.”
The State Policy Network has an Annual Meeting, which is the “premier gathering of people who are serious about winning the battle of ideas against failed government policies for generations to come.” Last year’s virtual Annual Meeting focuses on healthcare and COVID-19 policies, and SPN gave awards to different organizations that campaigned for different policy measures, including the Center of the American Experiment’s “Back 2 Work Minnesota” campaign, which loosened the “strict, ineffectual lockdowns” in Minnesota.
Funding:
The State Policy Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In 2018, the total budget of SPN was $16,811,842. 18% of that budget came from individuals who donated, 2% from corporate donations, 3% from “other,” and 76% from a vague “foundation” category. According to their Annual Report from 2020, SPN was able to distribute $4 million in “targeted investments” to its affiliates, and its total net assets and liabilities amounted to $16.9 million. From 1997-2017, the State Policy Network received $128,551 from Koch Foundations.
Associates:
Former Vice President Mike Pence is quoted as saying “No one else is doing the work State Policy Network does…The states are where we’re going to win the battle of freedom over socialism.” Pence was also a former president of the Indiana Policy Review, the affiliated state-based think tank.
Joseph Bast, the cofounder of the Heartland Institute, helped found the State Policy Network.
See also:
Stanford D. Swim
Lawson Bader
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