Issues: Oil & Energy

The Cheney Energy Task Force
A review and analysis of the proceedings leading to the Bush administration's formulation of its May 2001 energy policy.

In the spring of 2002, under order from a federal judge, the U.S. Department of Energy released to NRDC roughly 13,500 pages relating to previously secret proceedings of the Bush administration's energy task force. (President Bush formed the task force in early 2001 to develop a national energy policy, with Vice President Cheney at the helm.) Even though the government heavily censored the documents before supplying them to NRDC, they reveal that Bush administration officials sought extensive advice from utility companies and the oil, gas, coal and nuclear energy industries, and incorporated their recommendations, often word for word, into the energy plan.

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Click here to search the task force records.

See What the Records Reveal
Excerpts from Pages of Interest
Search the Task Force Records

And what they don't:
DOE's index of withheld documents

NRDC's Analysis of the Records
Federal Court Orders Release of Cheney Energy Task Force Records
(Press Release, 4/1/04)
Energy Dept. Documents Verify Industry Influence
(Press Release, 5/21/02)
Industry had Extensive Access to Energy Task Force
(Press Release, 5/21/02)
Industry Writes Energy Task Force Report
(Press Release, 3/27/02)
DOE's False Claim that Green Groups Participated

Background
How NRDC Brought the Records to Light
Related Legal Actions

Related NRDC Webpages
Slower, Costlier, Dirtier
Responsible Energy Policy for the 21st Century

last revised 4.5.04

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