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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (119005)	11/7/2007 1:21:47 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361752

Oil shock war game pushes lobbyist message By: Chris Frates Nov 6, 2007 04:37 PM EST Beltway insiders including Robert Rubin face a theoretical crisis to help avert a real one. In front of the klieg lights and cameras, nine Washington insiders sit before two video screens, each tracking the steady upward tick of oil prices and the correlating downward slide of financial markets. Above the graphs and numbers on the screens, four cable news feeds present a silent montage chronicling the worldwide reverberations of unrest in Azerbaijan and Nigeria. Oil production has been disrupted and America’s president is counting on his Cabinet for recommendations on what to do next. If this were television, you’d expect Jack Bauer to emerge from the shadows. But this energy crisis war game — dubbed the “Oil Shockwave” — isn’t just about entertainment; it’s an unorthodox lobbying tool employed by Securing America’s Future Energy, a bipartisan group advocating reducing U.S. dependence on oil. It’s being filmed in a Washington Ritz-Carlton ballroom and stars inside-the-Beltway celebrities such as former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. “What the Oil Shockwave demonstrates is that if some very believable events in the world were to happen, you would see tremendous disruption and spike in gas prices,” said Adm. Dennis Blair, the former commander-in-chief of U.S. Pacific Command who sits on SAFE’s Energy Security Leadership Council. “We just haven’t seen people making the national security argument,” said Blair, adding that carbon pollution and oil prices have dominated the national debate, including the one taking place now on Capitol Hill as energy legislation moves through the House and Senate. SAFE was founded in 2004 to illustrate the risks of America’s dependence on foreign oil in an energy debate typically led by environmentalists and industry lobbyists. It is funded through foundations and individuals. It does not take money from oil companies, said Jonathan Grella, the group’s senior vice president. The organization is dominated by a bipartisan roster of big names making it an instant player with an ability to get its message heard on Capitol Hill and at the White House. Before this year’s State of the Union address, the group’s Energy Security Leadership Council met with some of President Bush’s senior staff to push their agenda, said SAFE founder and president Robbie Diamond and Grella. In his January speech before Congress, Bush said the country needs to increase its energy security, and he included ideas right out of SAFE’s playbook. He called for tougher vehicle fuel efficiency standards and increasing production of renewable energy and oil and gas. After the speech, the group met with Bush personally, Grella said. The two co-chairmen of SAFE’s energy council, FedEx president Frederick W. Smith and retired Marine Corps Gen. P.X. Kelley, met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last month. They urged the speaker to support Senate provisions to toughen fuel economy standards on carmakers and increase production of renewable fuels, Grella said. On Wednesday, Blair and Shockwave participant Carol Browner, a former Environmental Protection Agency administrator, will testify in front of the House committee on energy independence. Their testimony will include impressions and insights they gleaned from participating in the Oil Shockwave simulation, said committee spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder. When the energy bill was heard on the Senate side, Blair, a former director of the Joint Staff for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified to the Commerce Committee about the importance of passing an energy policy that would protect national security. Blair had a natural link to the members. As U.S. Pacific commander, Blair had worked closely on national defense with Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who also lead the Appropriations Defense subcommittee. Continue reading our story » Page: 1 2 politico.com