WASHINGTON — In its highflying days, Enron Corp. sought to guide the new Bush administration toward a sweeping energy agenda, ranging from creating a national electricity grid to opposing protection of domestic steel products, according to documents made public Tuesday by congressional investigators.
Memos released during an oversight hearing by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee show that in 2001 Enron lobbied the White House for the appointment of two top energy regulators and fretted that the Bush administration was losing the energy policy battle to Democratic critics.
"The Democrats so far seem to be winning the political high ground," said an Enron briefing paper for Kenneth L. Lay, the company's chairman, in advance of an April 17, 2001, meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney. "What the Bush team needs to do is steal a page from the Clinton new economy playbook and to relegate the Democrats to the Carter 'eat your peas' playbook."
The White House must link the Democrats to "blackouts, waste, Luddites, regulation, government ownership, stagnation" while positioning Bush as the agent of "abundan[ce], efficiency, new economy, innovation, open markets," the document said.
Democrats said the documents showed how Enron wielded its clout -- by, among other things, backing specific nominees to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and meeting with high administration officials on energy policy -- before collapsing into bankruptcy protection in December in a wave of accounting scandals. Republicans pointed out that Enron also enjoyed access to high-level appointees in Bill Clinton's administration.
The documents provide a glimpse at the behind-the-scenes maneuvering on major policy debates.
Lay, now a pariah in business and political circles, was then on a first-name basis with powerful administration figures.
"Congratulations on the speed with which you, Dick and others have been able to place high-quality individuals in every cabinet post," he faxed Bush transition team director Clay Johnson on Jan. 8, 2001, after Bush's cabinet picks had been announced. The "Dick" referred to was Cheney, and Lay signed his note "Ken."
Enron's efforts, however, did not always lead to the desired results.
Its two candidates for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission -- Patrick H. Wood III and Nora Brownell -- were approved, despite some strong competition. But in the summer of 2001, Wood and Brownell voted for energy price limits in the West, a policy opposed by Enron. Wood is now FERC chairman.
