Chamber Leaders Brief President on Energy Policy

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Environment and Energy Committee, Don Sterhan, urged President Bush to increase the production of domestic energy to help bring down high energy costs that are burdening U.S. companies during a meeting at the White House complex today.

"There is no way to separate the issue of energy from the issue of economy," said Sterhan. "These issues are absolutely linked together, so if we're going to talk about a strong economy long-term, then we need to get a fix on reliable energy supplies."

The Presidential briefing was held with the leaders of the Coalition for Affordable American Energy (CAAE), which includes the Chamber's Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Bruce Josten. This meeting furthers the CAAE's agenda, which business leaders created as a coalition of trade associations to continually push the Congress and Administration to greatly increase the development of domestic energy resources in an environmentally sensitive manner.

Sterhan, a Montana native, was chosen to attend this exclusive meeting with President Bush because of his position as the President and CEO of the Mountain Plains Equity Group where he knows first hand the pressing need for affordable energy that all businesses are currently facing. As chair of the Chamber's Environment and Energy Committee, Sterhan is also an energy policy expert, who spoke specifically on the need for more drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). "The OCS is known to contain large oil and gas reserves. At a time when we are demanding more energy and facing outrageous prices at the pump, this is not the time to restrict access," said Sterhan. "We need to get serious about increasing exploration and production of our own domestic reserves."

Immediately expanding domestic oil and gas exploration and production is part of the comprehensive energy policy platform outlined last month by the U.S. Chamber's Institute for 21st Century Energy.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Environment and Energy Committee is responsible for the development of policies concerning the regulation of air, water, solid waste, natural resources, and domestic energy markets to ensure that regulations are efficiently undertaken and based on sound science and the best data available, consider actual health risks, and avoid unnecessary burdens on energy supplies and the economy.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

http://www.uschamber.com/issues/index/environment/eandecommittee.htm

www.uschamber.com

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