Page 2 Promoting reasonable conservation in all energy operations and uses; Determining that the public interest is being served by the balance being struck between environmental considerations and the need for domestic energy; Maintaining a climate wherein vigorous, competitive energy industries can find, develop, and produce the needed supplies under the incentives of private enterprise; - Accelerating the development through private research of new technologies for using domestic solid fuels by supporting with federal funds fundamental studies, construction of demonstration plants, and investigations in frontier scientific areas; Making federal and state public lands available for private exploration and development of resources, including coal, oil, gas, uranium, oil shale, and geothermal energy; Maintaining a consistent tax policy designed to encourage a return on investment in the mining industry, net after taxes, that will be sufficiently high to generate the huge capital investments necessary for development of domestic energy fuels; and Continuing constructive cooperation and communication between government, industry and the public. Although each of these objectives is worthy of comment, time constraints permit elaboration on only a portion of the list. A more detailed written statement expanding on each of the above points is being provided to you. There appears to be little need to belabor the more obvious recommendations. Certainly energy is too precious to