Senator Lieberman wrote to Chief of Staff Andrew Card expressing concern about communications between the White House and the Competitive Enterprise Institute regarding efforts to discredit official conclusions on climate change in a 2002 UN report. Lieberman referenced an email suggesting the White House sought CEI's help "cleaning up the mess" and questioned whether a subsequent CEI lawsuit was collusive. Lieberman requested the White House provide details on all contacts with CEI regarding global warming from May 2002 to present to clarify the situation.

1. -09/24/2003 19:57 FAX a [0O1
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Letter from Senator Lieberman to Sec. Card.
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September 24',2003
mr. Andrew H. card, Yr.
Chief of Staff to the President
Executive Office of the President
1600 Peinnsylvania Avenue, NW.
Washington, DC 20500
Cards
Dear MA&
I write to express my conoern about coomMUnicalions tha have recently come to light
between high.-ranking White House staff anid the Competitive Enterprise bnstituzte (CEl), a
conservative think-tank, regarding a May 2002 report on global wanrning submitted to the United
Nations by the State Department. As you kniow, that report was at-odds with Bush
Administration efforts to reject mounting evidence of the serious effects of climate change. A
Tune 3, 2002 emnail from Myron Ebell, Director of Global Wanning and Bnvironmental Policy at
CEL to Phihp, Cooney, Chief of Staff for the White House's Counicil on Enviromnenrtal Quality
(CEQ), appeal to show efforts by Mr. Cooney to use GEI, an outside group, to discredit settlcd
and offcial scientific conclusions regarding climate change.
The U.S. Climate Action Report was issued in May 2002 by the Ulnited States pursuant to
its obligations under the United Nations F~ramework Convention on Climate Change in 1992.
The Climate Action Report relied to a signifoanX extent on the National Assessment of the
Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, which was published in 2000 by the
Clinton Administration after a decade of study. Bothi these reports recognized that increasing
concentratioiis of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were causing the Earth to warm. Both also
Warned that the winnig temperatures would have dire environmental consequences. These
alarnring fmxdings provide additional evidence that we must make evory effort to reduce our
nation's greenhouse gas emissions. Such a pumuit however, is contrary to the :Bush
Administration's short-.sighted goals of increasing the use and production of trad~itionaal fossil
fuels without regard to the long-texm effbct on the planet. Thus, when asked about the May 2002
Climate Action Report, President Bush dismissed it as having been "pVnt out by the bureaucracy,"
while reaffinningbhis ow nvironmentally hostile approach, (George Archibald and Carter
Dougherty, "'BushPans Kyoto as 1apan OKS Pact; EPA Diverges From President's Views,"
Washington Times, June 5, 2002-)
The June 3, 2002 CE.I-CEQ email, which was produced as a.result of a Freedom of
Information Act request by Attorneys General from Cornneotiout, Massachusetts and Maine, was
apparently written in response to a telephone call to Mr. Ebell of CB1 from Mr. Cooney of CEQ
requesting "help"in dealing with the poLitical fallout from the Climiate Action Report. In the

3. 09/24/2003 19:57 FAX
5EI-'-24-2Ma3 14; 17 BAC PRESS OFFICE 2~003
202 228 44S9 P.03
Mr Andrew R. card, Jr.
Septembcr 24, 2003
Page 2
em"i, Mr- E-bell indicates his8 understanding of Mr.
Cooney's request-thtC!ibenakd
"to clean up the mess" - and eXp-resses some doubt
a's to "whether we have the resources to clean
up this One.-" NO Other eMail exchanges between these
paxties have been released.
Howe'vcr, On August 6, 20039, CBI file a lawsuit
the National Assessment of the Potential Consequenes against the Administration to invalidate
of Climate Vaxiability and Change -
published in 2000 by the ClfntOn Administration after
a
basis for many of the conclusions in the Climate-Action decade of study - which fonned the
attempt to heave the National Assessment (and therefore Report. The suzit is apparently an
the Climate Action Report) withdrawn.
The June 3, 2002 email suggests that CEQ may have
worked with CEI in forming a
strategy to "'clcan up the me$$" left by the Cnlae Action
Su YteAmnsrto a Report. This lawsuit may have, been
Admmfation is in a Position b defend these ota anIhp ht h0jwu
to
etma
offiia U.S. conclusions on climate change isno
thereslt
f a colusve lanoonciv~i y 'I in concert
be wrong in any circumstance, to reject the well-founded with the Administration it'sel±I ol
fidnso teNtjnI se et~ boutd
for the Administration to use an outside group to purSue
fiuch an il-Oneivedgoual woud esstet
do)ubly wrong and could also be abuse of the courts
at the expense of the,taxpayers.
I call upon the Admn~ixstration to clea this matter up
by explaining what help, exactly,
Mx. Cooney was seetkiz9, Prompting Mr. Bbell to sand
the White House to clear the record once ad for all the June 3, 2002 emaiL I also call upon
by publicly disrlsn l ht o~
c-ontacts with CEI 10garding the issue of global warming
fromn
"Contacts" include all commiunicatiogs includin meetings, May 1,2002, to the present.
onersations, telephone calls,
emails; letters, Or tfasimiles. Please provide the namps
of all people who participated in each
contact between CMI and White House staff in which
includes providing the names of aln people present global watn~ingwas addressed, This
at relevant meetings or convestos l
those who authored or received relevant dorume=t
(such
maade or received relevant telephone calls. Please provide as cmails or lettes), and all those who
or regarding communications with CE! addressing me copies of all documents evidencing
global warming from May 1,202t h
present.202tth

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-~4~T4~14 Ve UzRE IHREi UH'~ CE
I
Nk. Andrew R Card, Jr.
September 24, 2003
Page 3
Thank YOU for Your sassiatweie with this matter. I look forward to your timely response,
but please provide the informationi requested no later than October 10, 2003. Feel free to canl me
with any questions, or have your staff vall Cynthia Lesser of my staff at 202-224-2627.
Sincerely,
phi, Liebermau
Ranking Minority Member
TOTAlL P.04