Policy, Politics, and Process: The 1987 Energy Security Study
Abstract
In the fall of 1986, the Reagan Administration was confronted with a political problem that was the fruit of a major U.S. policy success. For eight years, both the Reagan and Carter Administrations had sought to reduce U.S. dependence on OPEC oil by forcing consumers to bear the burden of sharply higher oil prices. The results were remarkable: a major decline in oil consumption and imports occurred in the first half of the decade. But by 1985 the other shoe was dropping: in the face of continuing high OPEC and non-OPEC production, oil prices began a slide that cut the cost of a barrel in half, dropping to below $10 per barrel In April 1986. The low prices hurt oil producers everywhere, including in the U.S.' own domestic oilfields. By mid-1986, a recession was sweeping Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and other producing states. As domestic oil production fell off, it was replaced by higher oil imports. Industry spokesmen began to call for action by the Federal government, based on the oil industry's critical strategic importance to the nation. The most frequently proposed remedy was to levy a fee on imported oil, which would reduce imports, provide substantial windfall benefits to domestic producers, and reduce the burgeoning Federal deficit. In April, 1986, in the aftermath of the raid on Libya, the governors of six energy-producing states called on the Administration to enact energy policy measures that would raise the price of imported oil noting that the autonomy of U.S. security policy depended on energy independence. Soon thereafter, several proposals for oil import fees or quotas were introduced in Congress.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 15, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA437778
Entities
People
- John Medeiros
Organizations
- National War College