Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., protested today on the House floor that the libertarian Koch brothers “control Congress,” arguing that the Republican push for President Obama to approve the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas is motivated by a desire to reward the Koch brothers for financing the Tea Party during the 2010 election.

“The Koch brothers are a secretive brother-brother combination,” said Johnson in a floor speech about the payroll tax cut and the Keystone pipeline legislation. “They’re all involved in the energy business. And they stand to get quite a bit of return on their investment through the 2010 elections, wherein through their front group, Americans for Prosperity, they financed the Tea Party — which is supposed to be grassroots, but actually its a corporate-driven animal; and the financing for that animal comes from the Koch brothers.”