bio
Jack Gerard has served as President and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute...
|
Basic Information
Known Associates
company American Petroleum Institute
position President and CEO
bio
Jack Gerard has served as President and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute since November, 2008. Gerard was born and raised in Idaho, moving to George Washington University to obtain a B.A. in Political Science and a subsequent law degree.
Prior to assuming his current position at API, Jack Gerard worked as the President of the American Chemistry Council from 2005-2008 and before that as the President of the National Mining Association from 2001-2005. Gerard obtained his initial political foothold throughout the 1980s while working for Representative George Hansen (R-ID) and Senator James McClure (R-ID), chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
According to Fortune, Gerard's position as Big Oil's top lobbyist gives him "unprecedented direct and regular access to the CEOs of his most important member companies, including Exxon's Rex Tillerson and ConocoPhillips' James Mulva."
Evidence
Political Activity:
As the premier lobbying organization for the oil and gas industry, Jack Gerard has overseen $30 million in federal lobbying expenditures over the from 2007 to 2011 (quarter 3).
In the summer of 2010, after Gerard took a weeklong international trip (focused on adoption) with Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), the Senator blocked an appointment by the Obama administration in order to hasten the lift of an offshore drilling moratorium put in place following the BP Deepwater Horizon oil gusher.
'Energy Citizens' Leaked Memo:
A leaked memo written by Jack Gerard in August, 2009 revealed that API, in cooperation with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers was coordinating “Energy Citizens” rallies as a way to increase political pressure against climate and energy legislation. This effort to create an apparent network of anti-climate legislation grassroots activists was funded directly by the oil and gas industry, and industry workers were actually bused to rallies by employers such as Chevron. The majority of these rallies were organized by oil industry lobbyists.
Vote 4 Energy advertising campaign:
API's new 2012 Vote 4 Energy is a continuation of the Energy Citizens astroturf campaign. Vote 4 Energy was launched to make it appear that there is widespread support for the oil industry's priorities, namely approval of the tar sands Keystone XL pipeline, offshore Arctic drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking). When Jack Gerard publicly launched Vote 4 Energy with his 2012 "State of American Energy" speech. At the event, Gerard claimed the campaign was nonpartisan, (despite overwhelming support for Republicans from oil companies) and avoided answering questions about the US recently becoming a net oil and gas exporter. Gerard also continued to exaggerate job creation figures from the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, and continues to blame the Obama administration for offshore drilling restrictions, ignoring a continuing rise in development of offshore wells and again making inaccurate claims on job impacts. The five largest members of the American Petroleum Institute (ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips) get $2 billion in annual taxpayer subsidies and profited over $100 billion in the first three quarters of 2011.
Links and Resources
Quotes
"When industries are confronted by challenges, they tend to get shellshocked and step back into the foxhole. [...] My philosophy is the opposite. Industries need someone to step forward and make the case when people don't understand them. [...] Because there's a lot of anxiety in the Congress about the industry, we have to step forward and be compelling in our advocacy. It's not a time to be bashful. The more transparent the discussion, the better off we'll be."
-Washington Post, June 17, 2008
“To be clear, API will provide the up-front resources [for its Energy Citizens rallies] to ensure logistical issues do not become a problem.”
“[W]e don’t want critics to know our game plan.”
-Leaked memo from Gerard to API affiliates, August 12, 2009
“What we’ve learned is that the public probably doesn’t understand or appreciate us as much as we’d like them to.”
-Politico, July 21, 2009
“[EPA Endangerment Finding] action poses a threat to every American family and business if it leads to regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Such regulation would be intrusive, inefficient, and excessively costly."
-Reuters, December 7, 2009
“We have always encouraged our employees to engage in political activities.”
-Greenwire, August 17, 2010
Connect
Keep In Touch
Media Center
Sign up for
POLLUTERWATCH News
