Washington, DC - In a new effort to educate voters about energy policy, the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy will be launching the “Energy Accountability Series.” This series of reports will explain what would actually happen if the policies proposed by candidates and groups were to be adopted.

With energy issues a major part of the U.S. Chamber’s voter education efforts this fall, the new series will hold candidates and groups accountable for the statements they make on energy policy. The Chamber has already launched advertisements on energy policy in the key Pennsylvania Senate race.

“It’s time that candidates and their allies be taken at their word and not just be dismissed as campaign-season rhetoric,” said Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the Energy Institute. “Our Energy Accountability Series will quantify the real-world, economy-wide consequences of living in a world in which candidates’ rhetoric on energy issues actually became reality.”

The Obama presidency has demonstrated clearly that a candidate’s views and things they say and do to win support of interest groups has a real impact on how policy is shaped and implemented. The Energy Accountability Series will ask the tough questions and provide quantitative answers on the full impacts and implications of these policies, irrespective of which candidates, groups, or political parties happen to support or oppose them. 

“Our series of reports, which will start this summer and continue through the election, will help promote and inform a fact-based debate on critical energy issues facing our country,” Harbert said. “Voters should have the opportunity to be armed with factual information about the impacts of what the candidates propose so that they can make the right choices for themselves and their families.”

For more information and to sign up for updates, visit www.energyxxi.org/energy-accountability

The mission of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy is to unify policymakers, regulators, business leaders, and the American public behind a common sense energy strategy to help keep America secure, prosperous, and clean. Through policy development, education, and advocacy, the Institute is building support for meaningful action at the local, state, national, and international levels.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.