Securing America's Future Energy

SAFE Encourages President Trump to Remain Focused on OPEC Actions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bridget Bartol | 202.461.2361 | bbartol@secureenergy.org

Washington, D.C.—Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) President and CEO Robbie Diamond released the following statement in support of President Donald Trump’s tweet highlighting OPEC’s action to inflate and influence the price of oil.

“Now is the time for President Trump to remain focused on this critical issue—OPEC and its non-member states continue to operate with impunity as they collude on oil prices and supply, taking money out of the pockets of hard working Americans. There’s no free market for oil, yet the U.S. military continues to shoulder the burden of defending the world’s oil supply lines, and rising gas prices threaten to eliminate the take-home benefits of the President’s tax cuts. SAFE supports the formation of an energy security commission that will investigate how the actions of the cartel and other petrostates undermine American interests and propose solutions to counter their influence, while continuing to achieve energy dominance by both increasing domestic supply and negotiating a unified fuel economy standard that reduces our dependence.”

The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consuming country, requiring 20 percent of global supply to meet its daily demand. Oil price volatility impacts all sectors of the U.S. economy, and when oil price spikes occur businesses and consumers have no alternatives available at scale. The nation’s oil dependence is particularly acute in the transportation sector, which is 92 percent powered by petroleum.

To counter this vulnerability and insulate the U.S. economy from oil price shocks, SAFE advocates for a range of policies designed to reduce the country’s dependence. These include increasing domestic production, modernizing and strengthening fuel economy standards, adoption of advanced transportation fuels including electricity and natural gas, and the expeditious deployment of autonomous vehicles.

About Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE)

Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) is an action-oriented, nonpartisan organization that aims to reduce America’s dependence on oil. Near-total dependence on petroleum in the transportation sector undermines the nation’s economic and national security, and constrains U.S. foreign policy. To combat these threats, SAFE advocates for expanded domestic production of U.S. oil and gas resources, continued improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency, and the advancement of alternative fuels in the transportation sector including electric vehicles and natural gas trucks. In 2006, SAFE joined with General P.X. Kelley (Ret.), 28th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President, and CEO of FedEx Corporation, to form the Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC), a group of business and former military leaders committed to reducing the United States’ dependence on oil.

###

1111 19th Street, NW #406, Washington, DC 20036