Advise the Advisor: Secretary Steven Chu

Advise the Advisor is a new program to help senior staff at the White House stay connected to the American people.

Rising prices at the pump affect everybody -- workers and farmers, truck drivers and restaurant owners.  For Americans already struggling to get by, it makes life that much harder. 

As long as our economy is dependent on foreign oil, we’ll be subject to these kinds of spikes in gas prices as demand for oil in countries like China and India continues to grow. Today, President Obama unveiled a Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future that sets a goal of reducing our imports of foreign oil.  By 2025 -- a little more than a decade from now -- we will cut our reliance on foreign oil by a third.

This week, Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy and one of President Obama’s senior advisors on energy policy, is asking for feedback about how we can work together to meet the President’s goal of cutting our imports of oil.

You can add your voice to the conversation by answering one or both of the following questions:

• President Obama has set a goal of reducing the amount of oil we import from the rest of the world by one third over the next decade. What suggestions do you have for reaching that goal?
   
• As we work to reduce our demand for foreign oil, how should the Administration strike the right balance between increasing domestic energy production and reducing energy waste?
   

Past Questions

David Plouffe, Senior Advisor to the President, kicked off the series by asked for your feedback on how American innovation affects your community and the obstacles to innovation you see where you live. Check out David’s video and read his follow up blog post responding to some of the major themes we saw in reading your feedback.

Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, posted the second edition of Advise the Advisor asking for feedback from small businesses about the obstacles they face in getting off the ground. Austan responded to some of your feedback during a live chat at the Winning the Future Forum on Small Business in Cleveland.

Melody Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council and one of President Obama’s senior advisors on education policy, asked for feedback from parents, teachers and students about what’s working in their communities and what needs to change when it comes to education. Watch Melody's video and read her blog post where she details your responses.