Government/Industry A Partnership?
Authors: Perkins Carter J. 
Published: December 2007

During my relatively short term as head of Shell's Washington public affairs office, I have observed many changes in the interelationships between government and industry. The one thing that has impressed me most, as both observer and participant, is the dramatic and increasing participant, is the dramatic and increasing involvement of government in all of industry's affairs, particularly those of our own petroleum industry. This greater government involvement in our operations has created a vastly different and far more complex situation. The day is past when the oil man could concern himself almost exclusively with competitive commercial matters in short, with the more conventional aspects of the business. Today's oil man not only must know about these things, but also about how his company's operations affect the environment, the job market, national security, the increasingly critical import picture and the international balance of payments. picture and the international balance of payments. The situation, in fact, has reached the point where I doubt if one of our executives makes a significant business decision without considering how it will be affected by government controls pending legislation, or existing laws. pending legislation, or existing laws. The rate of increase in this government involvement has alarmed many throughout industry in general. In the petroleum industry alone there is so much legislation and regulation at the federal, state and local levels that it is an enormous task just to keep track of it all. Whether we like it or not, however, this increasing government impingement on our operations is inevitable. It is inevitable precisely because our industry has such a wide impact on the community. In today's society, many of the problems are interrelated and an increasing degree of policy coordination between government and industry has become absolutely necessary. The real question of today, as I see it, is not the old either/or private enterprise or government control. On the contrary, it is how should private enterprise and government cooperate to the best total advantage. In other words, can there be a fruitful partnership between the two? Reaching real understanding is not just a question of good will or ill will. It really is a question of correct definition and limitation of roles. And it is one of communication so that policy making on key issues is carried out with policy making on key issues is carried out with knowledge of all the essential facts. The communications task is difficult. In part, it is done by companies maintaining Washington part, it is done by companies maintaining Washington staffs who can bring about a proper interface between industry and members of Congress and the administration. Our people must know the talent and expertise within their organizations so they can call on the proper individuals to help government solve problems. We must be constantly aware of what is going on in government and especially up-to-date about proposed legislation or regulations and how they could affect our industry. Above all, in all these exchanges we must be straightforward and factual. Government in turn must digest this vast quantity of information in order to make knowledgeable decisions and write reasonable legislation. Right now, our task of informing is made more difficult because many new faces are sprinkled through Congress and the federal bureaucracy. These new people must absorb huge amounts of information, in many cases about industry matters with which they are unfamiliar. We are fast losing some of our senior friends by retirement or otherwise. Therefore, their wise counsel will be missed by the newer members. I have a good deal of sympathy for our busy congressmen. Not only must they know about such basic oil operations as production, refining, transportation and marketing; they must try to brief themselves on such complex issues as, for example, the Water Quality Control Act, the rights and wrongs of tax proposals, import programs, deep water ports, problems of land-use policy. And this is but a partial list for one industry alone. In Washington nowadays, we have a mixed picture as far as the petroleum industry is concerned. The administration seems, in general to be taking a constructive position on energy matters. The President, by the changes he has made among his President, by the changes he has made among his close advisors, has indicated he considers the energy situation a critical one. By these changes also, he has centered more policy making right in the White House for his second administration.
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