Establishing a Quadrennial Energy Review

Vol. 79

Tuesday,

No. 9

January 14, 2014

Part III

The President

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Memorandum of January 9, 2014--Establishing a Quadrennial Energy Review

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Title 3--
The President

Memorandum of January 9, 2014

Establishing a Quadrennial Energy Review

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies

Affordable, clean, and secure energy and energy
services are essential for improving U.S. economic
productivity, enhancing our quality of life, protecting
our environment, and ensuring our Nation's security.
Achieving these goals requires a comprehensive and
integrated energy strategy resulting from interagency
dialogue and active engagement of external
stakeholders. To help the Federal Government better
meet this responsibility, I am directing the
undertaking of a Quadrennial Energy Review.

The initial focus for the Quadrennial Energy Review
will be our Nation's infrastructure for transporting,
transmitting, and delivering energy. Our current
infrastructure is increasingly challenged by
transformations in energy supply, markets, and patterns
of end use; issues of aging and capacity; impacts of
climate change; and cyber and physical threats. Any
vulnerability in this infrastructure may be exacerbated
by the increasing interdependencies of energy systems
with water, telecommunications, transportation, and
emergency response systems. The first Quadrennial
Energy Review Report will serve as a roadmap to help
address these challenges.

The Department of Energy has a broad role in energy
policy development and the largest role in implementing
the Federal Government's energy research and
development portfolio. Many other executive departments
and agencies also play key roles in developing and
implementing policies governing energy resources and
consumption, as well as associated environmental
impacts. In addition, non-Federal actors are crucial
contributors to energy policies. Because most energy
and related infrastructure is owned by private
entities, investment by and engagement of the private
sector is necessary to develop and implement effective
policies. State and local policies; the views of
nongovernmental, environmental, faith-based, labor, and
other social organizations; and contributions from the
academic and non-profit sectors are also critical to
the development and implementation of effective energy
policies.

An interagency Quadrennial Energy Review Task Force,
which includes members from all relevant executive
departments and agencies (agencies), will develop an
integrated review of energy policy that integrates all
of these perspectives. It will build on the foundation
provided in my Administration's Blueprint for a Secure
Energy Future of March 30, 2011, and Climate Action
Plan released on June 25, 2013. The Task Force will
offer recommendations on what additional actions it
believes would be appropriate. These may include
recommendations on additional executive or legislative
actions to address the energy challenges and
opportunities facing the Nation.

Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President
by the Constitution and the laws of the United States
of America, I hereby direct the following:

Section 1. Establishing the Quadrennial Energy Review
Task Force. (a) There is established the Quadrennial
Energy Review Task Force (Task Force), to be co-chaired
by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology
Policy and the Director of the Domestic Policy Council,
which shall include the heads of each of the following,
or their designated representatives:

(i) the Department of State;

(ii) the Department of the Treasury;

(iii) the Department of Defense;

(iv) the Department of the Interior;

(v) the Department of Agriculture;

(vi) the Department of Commerce;

(vii) the Department of Labor;

(viii) the Department of Health and Human Services;

(ix) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;

(x) the Department of Transportation;

(xi) the Department of Energy;

(xii) the Department of Veterans Affairs;

(xiii) the Department of Homeland Security;

(xiv) the Office of Management and Budget;

(xv) the National Economic Council;

(xvi) the National Security Staff;

(xvii) the Council on Environmental Quality;

(xviii) the Council of Economic Advisers;

(xix) the Environmental Protection Agency;

(xx) the Small Business Administration;

(xxi) the Army Corps of Engineers;

(xxii) the National Science Foundation; and

(xxiii) such agencies and offices as the President may designate.

(b) The Co-Chairs may invite independent regulatory
agencies with energy-related responsibilities,
including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to participate in
the Task Force, as determined to be appropriate by
those agencies.
(c) The Co-Chairs shall regularly convene and
preside at meetings of the Task Force and shall
determine its agenda. Under the direction of the Co-
Chairs, the Task Force shall:

(i) gather ideas and advice from State and local governments, tribes, large
and small businesses, universities, national laboratories, nongovernmental
and labor organizations, consumers, and other stakeholders and interested
parties; and

(ii) coordinate the efforts of agencies and offices related to the
development of the Quadrennial Energy Review Report, as described in
sections 1 and 2 of this memorandum.

(d) The Secretary of Energy shall provide support
to the Task Force, including support for coordination
activities related to the preparation of the
Quadrennial Energy Review Report, policy analysis and
modeling, and stakeholder engagement.
(e) The Task Force shall submit a Quadrennial
Energy Review Report to the President every 4 years
beginning with a report delivered by January 31, 2015.
Intermediate reports and other material may be prepared
by the Task Force as required by the President.
Sec. 2. The Quadrennial Energy Review Report. The
Task Force shall establish integrated guidance to
strengthen U.S. energy policy. Building on the
Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future and the Climate
Action Plan, and taking into consideration applicable
laws and regulations, the Task Force shall prepare a
Quadrennial Energy Review Report that:

(a) provides an integrated view of, and
recommendations for, Federal energy policy in the
context of economic, environmental, occupational,
security, and health and safety priorities, with
attention in the first report given to the challenges
facing the Nation's energy infrastructures;
(b) reviews the adequacy, with respect to energy
policy, of existing executive and legislative actions,
and recommends additional executive and legislative
actions as appropriate;
(c) assesses and recommends priorities for
research, development, and demonstration programs to
support key energy-innovation goals; and
(d) identifies analytical tools and data needed to
support further policy development and implementation.

Sec. 3. Outreach. In order to gather information and
recommendations and to provide for a transparent
process in developing the Quadrennial Energy Review
Report, the Task Force shall engage with State and
local governments, tribes, large and small businesses,
universities, national laboratories, nongovernmental
and labor organizations, and other stakeholders and
interested parties. The Task Force shall develop an
integrated outreach strategy that relies on both
traditional meetings and the use of information
technology.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) This memorandum shall
be implemented consistent with applicable law and
subject to the availability of appropriations.

(b) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed
to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to any agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(c) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed
to require the disclosure of confidential business
information or trade secrets, classified information,
law enforcement sensitive information, or other
information that must be protected in the interest of
national security or public safety.
(d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.

(e) The Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy is authorized and directed to publish
this memorandum in the Federal Register.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

Washington, January 9, 2014.