Analysts and Former Policymakers Ask Congress to Restore EIA Funding

I wrote a few weeks back about the ill-advised cuts to the EIA budget that were part of the budget deal. Yesterday, I joined thirty policy analysts and former policymakers from across the political spectrum in a letter to members of Congress, explaining how important EIA products are to analysts and policymakers, and urging them to reconsider the cuts.

Here’s the key paragraph:

“Countless businesses, officials, and analysts - and many branches of the US government - rely on EIA’s unbiased, comprehensive, timely data and analysis on US and global energy markets and industry trends. Research institutions that Congress and the White House rely on agree that EIA data is vital to their research and policy analysis.    Convulsions in our oil, natural gas, coal, and renewable fuels markets have caused demand for EIA information and analysis by the private sector and policymakers to skyrocket in recent years. Restricting EIA’s ability to collect and publish energy data and analysis could unintentionally exacerbate market uncertainty, possibly curtailing investment and contributing to greater price volatility.”

Signatories include former energy secretaries Spencer Abraham, Bill Richardson, and Sam Bodman; oil spill commission co-chairs Bob Graham and Bill Reilly; other former Obama and Bush administration officials; and academics from Stanford, Rice, and SMU, among others. Take a look.