The House Oversight Committee is calling representatives from top oil and gas firms and their lobbying groups to testify on the industry’s role in deceiving the public about fossil fuels’ role in causing climate change. The inquiry is modeled on the tobacco industry hearings of the 1990s, and the committee said it may subpoena representatives from Exxon, Chevron, BP, and Shell, along with API and the Chamber of Commerce, depending on their initial responses to the request to testify. The committee is seeking information and internal documents regarding their efforts to undermine climate policy since 2015. The requests come as Congress debates legislation that would begin to address the climate crisis, while climate-fueled disasters have left trails of death and destruction across the country, with nearly a third of the country affected in the last three months alone. (New York Times $, CNN, The Hill, Reuters)