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1515824
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Energy - Meeting with the President, March 25, 1976
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1515824
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document
title
Energy - Meeting with the President, March 25, 1976
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collections
James M. Cannon Files (Ford Administration)
James Cannon's Issues Files
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Federal Energy Administration. (6/27/1974 - 10/1/1977)
Federal budget
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1515824
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1976-03-31
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3
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1976
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1976-03-01
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3
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1976
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The original documents are located in Box 13, folder "Energy - Meeting with the President,
March 25, 1976" of the James M. Cannon Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box 13 of the James M. Cannon Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT
ON FEA ISSUES
Thursday, March 25, 1976
2:00 p.m.
The Oval Office
FORD LIBRARY is GERALD
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 25, 1976
FORD
MEMORANDUM FOR:
JIM CANNON
FROM:
GLENN Jane SCHLEEDE
SUBJECT:
Comments on FEA Budget Issues being
discussed at the 2:00 p.m. meeting
with the President.
I have looked over the OMB book and have the following comments
and recommendations:
ISSUE #1: State Conservation Grants.
I recommend the OMB position.
The real issue on this one is not money; it's how far FEA
goes in promoting "innovative" energy conservation actions.
Glem:
I strongly favor the OMB position -- which focuses the
FEA program on five mandatory areas rather than spreading
the effort more broadly -- because:
- FEA conservation staff people seem to have a virtually
and
I
uncontrollable tendency to try to force their values and
good idea7 on others -- states, industry, private individuals,
etc. In the process, they involve themselves in problems
and decisions that should be handled at the State and
webstand
local level or by individuals. Examples (increasing the
number of police officers and getting people in every home
to fill out an energy conservation questionnaire for
computer analysis).
This
- the marginal contribution from the "innovative" energy
conservation ideas -- beyond what will be achieved by
logic.
price, mandatory actions, and numerous voluntary programs
already underway.
It's very doubtful that the marginal benefit will be worth
the cost, particularly if you consider FEA interference
in others' decisions as one of the costs.
-2-
ISSUE #2: FEA Staffing for regulatory compliance program.
I recommend the OMB position.
The issue involves both the extent of audit COV erage and
the time required to perform each audit.
I agree with OMB's apparent conclusion that the marginal
contribution of additional and more detailed audits --
beyond what could be performed by the people OMB would
allow -- doesn't justify all the added staff FEA wants.
The public perception arguments run both ways and are worth
noting:
- The recent Wall Street Journal article critical of
FEA's rapid growth has spawned other articles and
editorials. Within the past few days, mail has begun
coming to the President critical of FEA's growth.
- On the other hand, FEA is under pressure to try to recover
money that may have been obtained through cheating on FEA's
controls. Senator Kennedy has held hearings on this.
ISSUE #3: Strategic Storage Program
I haven't had time to look at this one in sufficient detail.
My impressions are as follows:
- It is important to move ahead with the program and to
make -- and be perceived as making -- a concerted effort.
A strategic storage system has a lot of psychological
value and could have some practical value if we have another
embargo.
- We should make clear that we are serious about implementing
the program.
- The targets set by the recent law are unrealistic and, if
met, would be unnecessarily costly -- as OMB points out.
- The targets set by FEA are unrealistic.
- What FEA is seeking is a commitment that has the effect
of relegating costs to a lower order consideration.
It's seldom that such an approach works out in the long
term interest of the Nation.
FORD
My recommendation would be to:
- Follow the OMB recommendation as to intended schedule.
-3-
- Do a better job than OMB has done SO far in describing
our intentions for the public. FEA should be charged
with doing this once the decision is made by the President.
I should point out that the second recommendation may be
hard to pull off because the dispute between FEA and OMB
has already found its way into the Press.
FORD DERATOR is LIBRARI