SECURING AMERICAS FUTURE ENERGY FOUNDATION

SAFE is committed to reducing the United States' dependence on oil. The U.S. depends on petroleum fuels for 92 percent of the energy used by the transportation sector. This overwhelming dependence on a single resource, the price of which is volatile and manipulated by a production cartel (OPEC), threatens the American economy with the specter of price spikes and severely hinders the nation's ability to conduct foreign policy, including military action, in its own interest. To free the U.S. from the economic and national security constraints of this dependence, SAFE is determined to see the nation's reliance on oil to power transportation reduced to no more than fifty percent by the year 2040. In pursuing this goal, SAFE's efforts will have the added benefit of addressing many other issues, including climate change and the environmental impacts of current oil usage, as well as driving global markets to solve the problem around the world.

SAFE will continue to further its strategy to (1) drive policy reform at the federal, state, and local level to encourage energy and transportation polices that reduce U.S. oil dependence and incentivize innovation; (2) accelerate adoption of alternatives through targeted deployment efforts across the country with high-impact returns that build confidence in new technologies, including AVs, create demand for advanced fuel vehicles, and convene all necessary stakeholders in support of building a new transportation ecosystem; and (3) reframe the national energy debate and mobilize constituencies around oil displacement, fuel alternatives, and autonomous transportation.

After more than a decade of building relationships and expertise through a non-partisan approach, SAFE is well-positioned to work with the Trump administration and Congress towards the organization's goal of reduced dependence on oil in the transportation sector. A confluence of factors puts SAFE in an influential position that is unique among organizations working on transportation issues. SAFE's Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC), a cohort of CEOs and retired four-star admirals and generals with impeccable credentials, are ideal to make the case for why the country should address the persistent threat of oil's energy security vulnerability.

In 2006, SAFE and the ESLC proposed reforming and increasing fuel economy standards in conjunction with increased domestic production to reduce U.S. dependence on oil and serve the country's national security interests. These efforts culminated in President George W. Bush signing the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which required fuel economy standards to reach an average of 35 mpg by 2020.

In 2009, SAFE launched the Electrification Coalition—a group of business leaders representing the entire value chain for an electrified transportation system—and released the Electrification Roadmap, which continues to be some of the best research on electric vehicle technology and policy. This work culminated in the Smart City Challenge that awarded Columbus, OH with $40 million and has already generated more than $400 million in additional private sector investments.

In 2013, SAFE released an updated National Strategy for Energy Security. This document outlined a comprehensive strategy for U.S. energy security. This document also introduced the concept of an Energy Security Trust Fund which would expand offshore drilling on federal lands and use oil revenues to seed research and development of alternative advanced-fuel vehicles, and this. This proposal and SAFE were cited, mentioned and supported by Obama in his 2014 State of the Union Address.

Since 2015, SAFE has taken a leadership role in promoting connected and autonomous vehicles, as well as ridesharing, and has worked with industry and other stakeholders to advance pro-innovation AV policy. In 2016's updated National Strategy for Energy Security: The Innovation Revolution, SAFE laid the philosophical underpinnings for NHTSA's AV Policy Guidance released later that year. SAFE believes this technology is critical to accelerating the adoption of EVs and reduced oil usage.

In 2017, SAFE encouraged the Trump administration to leverage new technologies and business models to reduce oil consumption while lessening the regulatory burden of fuel economy standards, and have played a leading role in the drafting of both House and Senate AV legislation through our work as a founding member of the Coalition on Future Mobility.