Chamber, Energy Institute Provide Transition Plan for Next Administration

Gen. James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.), president and CEO of the Chamber's Institute for 21st Century Energy, unveils a transition plan for the next president and Congress.

The president-elect and Congress can jumpstart the economy by making energy a top priority in 2009, according to two of the U.S. Chamber's top officials speaking at an Institute for 21st Century Energy event on November 17. The event was held to unveil the Institute's Transition Plan on Securing America's Energy Future—a detailed document to guide the nation's energy policy.

"Rhetoric won't cut it. We need a plan and we need a commitment, and most of all, we need an 'all of the above' approach," said Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue. Donohue told the audience of more than 250 attendees that it is critical to unlock all resources and invest in all technologies in order to meet future energy demand.

The Institute's President and CEO Gen. James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.), said he was encouraged by public statements made by President-elect Barack Obama that energy would be a top issue of his administration. "With new leadership comes the expectation of real and lasting change," Jones said. "Now that the work of campaigning is over, the real work of governing must begin."

The Transition Plan, which was sent to President-elect Obama, his transition team, and members of Congress, is a detailed document that lays out 88 goals, policies, and the recommended timetables to achieve them. If followed, the plan would result in greater energy efficiency, more diversification of supplies, greater environmental stewardship, and modernization of infrastructure. Recommendations include policies to increase renewable sources of electricity, address the critical shortages of qualified energy professionals, and expand nuclear energy use. 

The plan builds on the Institute's Open Letter to the next president and Congress from this summer and the energy policy recommendations made in its Blueprint released in September.

Read the Transition Plan.

Watch the Webcast.

Login to view/submit comments.