i am not sure who wrote that. >> i wrote that you wrote that, shall be -- shelby coffey? of tape. i want to thank each of you for being here today. when we start a new new session of congress. we have a lot of distinguished guests. i wish we had time to go to each table and introduce everyone and talk particularly about your tied to energy. unfortunately, i would like to dispense with that and thank you you for being here, but i would like to introduce the head table. the first one that you all know well as the new chairman of the house energy committee, chairman fred upton, of the great state of michigan. chairman? [applause] >> he has a lot on his plate, not the least of which includes a portfolio of energy. we look forward to working with you. let me introduce two consumers, former governor bill graves of the great state of canada -- kansas, the president and ceo of the american trucking association. [applause] >> next to his tom gibson, a friend, and currently the president and ceo of the american iron and steel institute, an energy-intensive industry. thank you. [applause] >>

. >> i'm shelby coffey trusty here at dhaka newseum, and on behalf of the newseum and our host, the american petroleum institute, i want to thank you all for joining us to kickstart 2011 with energy. back in the day i was an editor of a newspaper in dallas texas and another in los angeles california both states where energy demanded and got a lot of coverage. i watched the energy dialogue evolves over the years so like you i am eager to hear what the state of american energy is as we begin a new decade. speaking of, please note that you should have received the a epi state of american energy report on your chair. a couple additional housekeeping items you have question cards on your table like this please fill those out if you want to ask your question at the conclusion of the program and we will collect them later. for members of the press and blog -- bloggers and tweeters i asked you hold your questions until the speech and last, please ensure yourself phones are silent. so our speaker today, jack gerard, is one of the all stars of washington and a classic example of the mobility of americ