Washington, D.C. – This week, 12 military members of SAFE’s Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC) – 11 retired four-star officers plus a former service secretary – submitted a letter addressed to President Biden urging the passage of the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act (NOPEC) legislation awaiting a floor vote in the U.S. House and Senate.
Responding to OPEC’s recent decision to cut daily oil production by 2 million barrels, the letter stated in part: “The passage of NOPEC would demonstrate that the United States is serious about combatting oil market manipulation and will hold malign actors to account.…NOPEC would constitute a vital first step toward restoring full American sovereignty, which includes ending Saudi Arabia’s ability to take hostage our economy.”
The letter’s signatories were:
General James Conway, 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps (ESLC Chair)
Admiral Dennis Blair, Director of National Intelligence and Cdr, U.S. Pacific Command
General Bryan D. Brown, Cdr, U.S. Special Operations Command
General Richard Cody, Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
Admiral Jonathan Greenert, 30th Chief of Naval Operations
General Michael Hagee, 33rd Commandant of the Marine Corps
General John W. Handy, Cdr, U.S. Transportation Command
Admiral John Harvey, Cdr, U.S. Fleet Forces Command
Mr. John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy
General Duncan McNabb, Cdr, U.S. Transportation Command
General Michael Ryan, 16th Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force
General Charles Wald, Deputy Cdr, U.S. European Command
NOPEC would enable the Department of Justice to crack down on oil market manipulation by allowing the United States to take legal action against any foreign state and/or their state-run oil companies for price fixing and other anti-competitive activities. Enacting NOPEC into law would combat the price-fixing, anti-competitive antics of the cartel, ensuring a free, transparent, and stable oil market with substantially reduced risk of sudden swings in price and supply.
Learn more about SAFE’s long-standing support of NOPEC and recent action here.
###
About SAFE
SAFE is a non-partisan, non-profit policy thought leadership organization dedicated to accelerating the real-world deployment of secure, resilient, and sustainable transportation and energy solutions of the United States, and its partners and allies, by shaping policies, perceptions and practices that create opportunity for all.
