Missing Energy Papers of the U.S.A.
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THE NATION

Industry's a Key Player in Energy Data
Politics: Bush team, faced with a deadline, releases documents on task 
force. Many passages are edited out, fanning controversy.
By RICHARD SIMON and EDMUND SANDERS and ELIZABETH SHOGREN TIMES STAFF WRITERS

March 26 2002

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration Monday released thousands of documents 
on its energy task force, showing that industry groups provided substantial 
input in drafting the president's energy plan.

In putting out 11,000 pages of documents before a midnight deadline, the 
Energy Department gave new ammunition to critics of the administration's 
energy policy, who say it is tilted in favor of the coal, gas, oil and 
nuclear industries.

The documents show that Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham met with more than 
30 industry representatives at eight sessions from Feb. 14 to April 26. The 
Nuclear Energy Institute, the Independent Petroleum Assn. of America and the 
American Coal Co. were among the business groups invited to those sessions. 
No representatives of environmental or consumer groups were listed as 
meeting with Abraham.

In a statement, Abraham said the documents show that the energy plan was 
"balanced" and that the Energy Department "not only sought but included all 
viewpoints." Department officials said they sought input from 
environmentalists but were often rebuffed. Environmental groups have said 
their calls to administration officials weren't returned.

The department said that Abraham had declined a number of requests from 
business executives for meetings.

The documents did little to quell a legal and political controversy over the 
dealings of the energy task force, established by President Bush only days 
after he took office. Bush, a former oilman, named Vice President Dick 
Cheney, who had led an energy services company, to head the task force.

The administration's refusal to provide details of the task force's meetings 
led the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to 
file its first-ever lawsuit Feb. 22 against the executive branch. That 
lawsuit has not been resolved.

Separately, the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental 
organization, and Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, 
successfully brought court cases forcing the Energy Department and other 
federal agencies that participated in the task force to make their records 
available.

Those two organizations had sought documents last spring under the Freedom 
of Information Act and sued when it appeared that the government was 
dragging its feet on those requests. The two judges in these lawsuits set 
Monday as the deadline to begin releasing the documents.

Energy Dept. Withholds Thousands of Pages

In addition to the Energy Department documents, about 5,000 pages of 
documents were released Monday by the Department of Agriculture, the 
Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Management and Budget.

The Energy Department withheld 15,000 pages of documents. Of the 11,000 
provided, many were heavily redacted. The omissions fanned the controversy 
over the task force's secret meetings and contacts with industry groups, 
many of which were sources of sizable donations to the Bush-Cheney campaign.

Abel Lopez, director of an Energy Department office that deals with requests 
for records, said the deletions were permitted under the Freedom of 
Information Act, which "protects advice, recommendations and opinions" that 
are part of the executive branch's decision-making process.

Such redaction is not uncommon. Under the Freedom of Information Act, 
government agencies may refuse to release information for a variety of 
reasons, including protecting an individual's privacy or shielding policy 
debates.

But Judicial Watch officials accused the administration of holding back key 
records and vowed to return to court. "They're withholding information that 
the public has a right to obtain," said Larry Klayman, chairman and general 
counsel of the conservative watchdog group.

The documents were provided to a variety of environmental groups and media 
organizations, including The Times, which had requested the information 
under the Freedom of Information Act.

The documents show that the California energy crisis last year was a 
much-discussed topic at the Energy Department, with e-mails on the state's 
troubles often flagged as high priority. But in most cases, the content of 
the e-mails was edited out.

"Virtually all the e-mails we have seen have been completely blanked out," 
said John Walke, director of clean air programs for the Natural Resources 
Defense Council. "There are huge blank passages associated with the e-mails. 
Some of the sentences are cut off in the middle and redacted out in the 
bizarre way."

Walke was particularly interested in learning about plans for the new source 
review provision of the Clean Air Act, which requires plants to install 
state-of-the-art pollution control devices when they renovate their plants 
in a way that increases pollution.

But while the phrase "New Source Review" or its abbreviation may appear in 
the subject or below an attachment icon, there is no text.

"It gives you nothing," Walke said. "The substance is purposefully stricken 
from the document."

Give-and-Take Revealed in E-Mails

Among the documents released were e-mails between energy officials, detailed 
schedules for the secretary's chief of staff and other key officials, 
e-mails from citizens praising the plan or suggesting various technologies 
that would help solve the country's energy woes.

Some of the e-mails from industry lobbyists and representatives to key 
members of the administration's energy task force suggested that there was 
significant give-and-take in the development of the plan. 
For instance, the National Petrochemical and Refiners Assn. and the Nuclear 
Energy Institute supplied recommended paragraphs to drop into specific 
sections of the plan.

The release also included many documents already public, such as energy 
proposals from think tanks, environmental groups and industry associations; 
administration officials' testimony to Congress; letters to the agency from 
members of Congress; and news reports on energy troubles from newspapers, 
wire services and broadcast outlets.

The EPA documents included appeals by the oil industry for reducing the 
number of gasoline formulas used across the country and by the auto industry 
for reevaluating the government's fuel-economy standards. The 
administration's plan called for studying both issues.

Democratic lawmakers contend that the energy industry, including 
scandal-plagued Enron Corp., heavily influenced shaping of a 
production-tilted energy policy that favors the oil, gas, coal and nuclear 
industries. Indeed, the administration has acknowledged that Enron officials 
met six times with task force officials, including once with Cheney himself.

The Republican-controlled House last summer approved an energy plan that 
included a number of the administration's initiatives, including opening up 
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. The 
Democratic-controlled Senate has been bogged down in a debate on a far 
different energy bill that would stress conservation over production.

The GAO is continuing to wage its legal battle to secure additional 
information, including White House records. Administration officials have 
said they may claim executive privilege--a doctrine that presidents from 
George Washington onward have used to withhold information from Congress or 
the judiciary--to maintain the confidentiality of Cheney's records.

They also contend that releasing the information would set a bad precedent 
for future administrations seeking candid advice from outside experts.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Monday that the release of the 
documents did not alter the White House's opposition to making public the 
details of Cheney's meetings.

"The constitutional principle that the president and the vice president have 
enunciated remains in place," Fleischer said, "and the president will 
continue to fight for that."

*

Times researcher Robert Patrick contributed to this report. 
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*****

Judicial Watch Decries Missing Bush Energy Documents By Kathy A. Gambrell
UPI White House Reporter
3-27-2

WASHINGTON (UPI) - The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch said 
Tuesday that more than 25,000 documents were missing from the thousands 
released by the Bush administration under a Freedom of Information Act 
request seeking information on deliberations between Vice President Dick 
Cheney's energy task force and industry executives. 
  
Larry Klayman, attorney for Judicial Watch, told reporters during an news 
conference the organization would return to court on May 2 and ask a judge 
to give them the ability to question Bush administration officials about 
what information was missing from the 11,000 pages of documents it did 
release and to seek the disclosure of additional documents from the White 
House. 
  
Papers released under the court order were from the Department of Energy, 
White House Office of Budget and Management, Department of Agriculture, and 
the Environmental Protection Agency. 
  
Judicial Watch said about 15,000 documents from the Energy Department were 
missing and another 10,000 from the EPA were also missing. They said they 
have received none of the requested documents from the Department of 
Treasury or the Department of Commerce. 
  
White House officials called the May 2 hearing a "follow-up" hearing and 
said they were unaware that Judicial Watch planned to seek additional 
documents. 
  
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said the released information would only 
further confirm that the energy plan was a balanced plan and included all 
viewpoints. 
  
"It assures the American people that it was an open and appropriate process. 
Most importantly, the National Energy Policy provides a much- needed plan 
for energy security for America," Abraham said. 
  
The agency said it sought advice from energy, environmental and related 
organizations and leading experts to incorporate policy recommendations, but 
that in some instances, some interested stakeholders did not come forward 
with recommendations. 
  
To ensure a wide diversity of views was considered, the department solicited 
input and sought the advice from energy, environmental and related 
organizations and leading experts to incorporate policy recommendations. In 
some instances, DOE reached out and solicited the views of interested 
stakeholders that did not come forth with recommendations, Abraham said. 
  
Democrats have alleged that energy companies such as the now-bankrupt Enron 
Corp. unduly influenced the task force while ignoring environmental groups. 
Judicial Watch said it appeared that Enron sought favors from both the 
Clinton and Bush administrations. It suspected that the missing documents 
were related to the nearly defunct energy trading company. 
  
President George W. Bush had objected to the disclosure of communications 
between the White House and outside experts, considering it an issue 
involving the separation of powers between the legislative and executive 
branches of government. Bush said he could not get honest feedback on issues 
if experts believed their discussions would be made public. 
  
Klayman called the document release important, but said it was only one half 
of the story. "The public deserves full accountability from the vice 
president and his energy task force, and Judicial Watch will continue to 
pursue that accounting through its other litigation under the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act." 
  
Klayman said the missing pages made the administration appear suspicious and 
that "Until they release all the documents, the inference is that they have 
something to hide." 
  
On Feb. 27, a federal judge ordered the Department of Energy to hand over 
thousands of documents related to meetings between energy industry officials 
and Cheney's task force. District Judge Gladys Kessler in a memo 
accompanying her order called the department "woefully tardy" in complying 
with the Freedom of Information Act request by the Natural Resources Defense 
Council to examine the documents. 
  
"It's an absolute stonewall. There is nothing in the e-mail [copies] because 
they've all been redacted. I haven't seen redaction of this nature even in 
the Clinton administration," said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, 
of the papers released Monday. 
  
Among the documents were appointment book entries from Joseph Kelliher, a 
member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Between April 2001 and 
May 2001, his schedule showed meetings with the National Mining Association, 
Western Independent Refiners Association, the Natural Petroleum Council and 
the National Domestic Petroleum Council, among others. 
  
"The train has left the station and I think the destination is full 
disclosure," said Fitton. 
  
By Tuesday afternoon the NRDC said it had reviewed only half of the papers 
and was expected to make a statement on its examination during a Wednesday 
press conference. 
  
Cheney's task force met with Enron Corp., which last fall collapsed and fell 
into bankruptcy. Kenneth Lay, then chairman of Enron and now under public 
scrutiny, was the only executive to have a private meeting with Cheney, 
according to material the vice president has released over the past year. 
  
Klayman said the relationship between Bush and Lay was so close that the 
president often referred to Lay as "Kenny boy." At the time Enron officials 
were meeting with the Cheney task force, they were lobbying hard to keep the 
federal government from placing a cap on energy prices in California. 
  
Gov. Gray Davis, D-Calif., and several Democratic members of Congress have 
accused Enron of manipulating energy prices that contributed to California's 
energy crisis last spring. 
  
After one meeting with an Enron official, Cheney announced that he would 
oppose caps. Several Democrats accused Cheney of succumbing to Enron's 
influence at an April meeting. But the vice president's office said Cheney 
and Bush had consistently opposed price caps and his position last spring 
was not influenced by Enron. 
  
The vice president refused to issue a detailed list of participants in oil 
industry meetings and what policy positions they pushed for in Bush's energy 
plan. Cheney denied anything improper took place at meetings. He has said 
that he and his aides were seeking policy suggestions from across the country. 
  
Copyright © 2002 United Press International. All rights reserved. 

*****

Bush Tapped Solar Energy Funds to Print Energy Plan Fri Mar 29, 9:33 AM ET 
By Tom Doggett 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - While environmentalists have slammed the White House 
national energy plan for not doing enough to promote renewable energy, the 
Bush administration found those government research programs useful in 
paying the bill for printing copies of the 170- page plan. 
  
The administration took money from the Energy Department's solar and 
renewable energy and energy conservation budgets to pay for the cost of 
printing its national energy plan. 

Documents released under court order by the Energy Department this week 
revealed that $135,615 was spent from the DOE's solar, renewables and energy 
conservation budget to produce 10,000 copies of the White House energy plan 
released last May. 

Another $1,317.39 was spent for producing 16 "briefing boards" used by 
administration officials to illustrate and explain the White House energy 
plan. 

The newly released documents also show that $176.40 was taken from the 
energy conservation program to pay for an Alaska trip by Andrew Lundquist, 
the White House energy task force's staff director, to promote the energy 
plan. 

The administration's energy policy called for drilling in Alaska's Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge (news - web sites), a proposal strongly opposed by 
environmentalists. 

At the same time the White House tapped the renewable budget for funds to 
print the energy plan, administration was urging Congress to cut the 
renewable and energy efficiency research budgets by more than 50 percent. 

Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites), who headed the White House 
energy task force, criticized environmentalists for relying too much on 
renewables and conservation to solve the nation's energy problems. 
"Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient 
basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy," Cheney said two weeks 
before the energy plan was released last May. 

The administration did try to spread around the cost of producing the energy 
plan. 

It dipped into the DOE's fossil energy program, which covers primarily oil 
research, to pay $100.92 for a hotel room near the Government Printing 
Office where the policy publication was being produced. 

The documents did not name the official or if the hotel offered a government 
rate.