"Dear 44th U.S. President and 111th Congress '"

Institute for 21st Century Energy President and CEO Gen. James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.) calls on Americans to come together to solve the nation's energy crisis.

To prompt action on the nation's energy crisis, a bipartisan group of 27 former senior administration, legislative, and military leaders released an open letter to the next president and Congress urging them to implement the U.S. Chamber's 13 principles for securing America's energy future.

"This is a long-term, very aggressive program, and we don't plan to leave it on the table," said Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue, speaking at a July 16 U.S. Chamber Institute for 21st Century Energy event.

Donohue and Gen. James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.), president and CEO of the Institute, were joined by several open letter signatories, each of whom stressed the urgency of crafting and implementing a comprehensive energy strategy and outlined the national security, economic, and environmental consequences of failing to do so.

The energy principles call for new domestic production of all types of energy including renewables and nuclear; greater energy efficiency; the development of clean energy technology; improvements to energy infrastructure; and a balanced, commonsense approach to global climate change (see uschamber.com, July 2008). Gen. Charles Boyd, USAF (Ret.), president and CEO of Business Executives for National Security, praised the document as "simply the best thing I've seen on the subject, period."

National leaders who have endorsed the U.S. Chamber's energy principles include former secretaries of State James Baker III, Gen. Colin Powell, USA (Ret.), and Dr. Henry Kissinger.

Join the growing number of supporters and sign the Institute's open letter at www.energyxxi.org/.