Alan Keyes was born in New York City on August 7, 1950. He received a doctorate in government from Harvard University in 1979. From November 1985 to October 1987, Keyes served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization affairs. In October 1987, Keyes served as a resident scholar in Foreign Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. During the Reagan administration Keyes was the U.S. representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. He also spent two years on the State Department's policy planning staff. In addition, Keyes has worked as a desk officer in the State Department's Office of Southern African Affairs, served abroad as a vice-consul at the U.S. Consulate General in Bombay, India, and been president of Citizens Against Government Waste. Keyes has also served as interim president at Alabama A&M University and is host of "America's Wake-Up Call," a radio call-in show on WCBM in Owing Mills, Md. Keyes unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 1988 and 1992. Keyes and his wife Jocelyn currently reside in Maryland and have three children.

Why the 2000 election is important

Dr. Alan Keyes is a proponent of a small federal government with little regulatory authority. During his unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1996, Keyes indicated his support for "takings" legislation, and development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He also recommended an end to corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards and voluntary implementation of the Endangered Species Act.¹

In a few instances, Keyes' positions have agreed with environmentalists. In 1990, while president of Citizens Against Government Waste, Keyes testified before a Senate committee in favor of strict enforcement of the federal water reclamation law, which had been abused through unlawful subsidies for large agricultural users.² In 1996, he supported boosting fees for mining companies using federal lands.³

ISSUE AREAS

Alan Keyes' campaign had not returned LCV's presidential environmental questionnaire as of January 10, 2000.

NATURAL RESOURCES AND PUBLIC LANDS

Keyes generally takes positions opposed by the environmental community. In a 1996 candidate profile, Keyes advocated transferring some federal lands to state and local governments, or selling it to citizens. He also said he would not increase grazing fees on federal lands and would replace the Endangered Species Act with voluntary tax incentives.⁴

Keyes is a proponent of fair market returns for mining on federal land. He recommends that the market value for mineral development be "determined through some kind of auction or competitive bidding process."⁵ In 1995, Keyes said he supported development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, provided safe methods are used to extract oil and gas from the ground.⁶

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ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATION

Keyes supports reducing funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs at the Department of Energy (DOE), and favors the phase out of appliance efficiency standards. He has also endorsed a 40 percent funding cut in DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program as well as the Health and Human Services Department's Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Nuclear Issues
Keyes favors the construction of new nuclear power plants, provided "they are not built with tax dollars." In the past, he has supported efforts to transfer federal land for a proposed low-level radioactive waste facility in Ward Valley, Calif. Keyes is "undecided" about a proposal to build an interim nuclear waste storage site near Yucca Mountain, Nev.⁷

Auto Efficiency Standards
Keyes opposes strengthening corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles, saying tougher CAFE standards would result in lighter vehicles and increased automobile fatalities. "It's an assault on the family car and should be abolished," he wrote in a 1991 Houston Chronicle op-ed. "Reducing our dependence on foreign oil is important. Main-taining environmental quality is also important. But are these goals worth such a cost?"⁸

Climate
Alan Keyes is a critic of global warming forecasts. In 1996, he opposed cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels. In a special advertising section on climate change in the Washington Post, Keyes summed up current position on the issue, saying:

All climate change forecasts depend on technology forecasts. To know how human activity will change the climate over the next century, one must also know what energy technologies will be prevalent in 2050 or 2100. Many of the same 'experts' who only 20 years ago predicted the world would soon run out of oil now claim to foresee how energy will be produced and consumed 50 or 100 years hence. This is hubris of a high order.⁹

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INTERNATIONAL

Population
During the Reagan administration, Keyes was a U.S. delegate to the 1984 World Population Conference in Mexico City. The conference served as the catalyst for the Reagan administration to ban U.S. monetary assistance for international family planning groups that advocated abortion rights in their own countries, even if the groups did not perform abortions. Federal law already prohibits U.S. funds from being used for abortions directly. In 1985, Keyes also served as a U.S. delegate to the Women's Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, during the Reagan administration.

In 1986, as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, Keyes testified before Congress on the proposed budget for U.S. contributions to various UN agencies, including the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). At that time, the Reagan administration repeatedly proposed cuts for the UNEP budget. While Keyes testified to an increase above previous Reagan budgets, the proposal was still below historic spending. However, apart from the general support for the program in his prepared remarks, he failed to speak about the value of international environmental program assistance.¹⁰

Trade
Keyes' position on the environmental aspects of trade policy is not known.

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POLLUTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH

In response to a 1996 energy survey, Keyes stated he supported proposed cuts of about 35 percent in the EPA budget. Also that year, Keyes said he opposed efforts to strengthen the Clean Water Act.¹¹

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS AND PROCEDURES

Following his federal appointments, Keyes served as president of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) from 1988 to 1990. Among its thousands of program recommendations, CAGW advocated privatization of the Tennessee Valley Authority and elimination of the federal Superfund program, federal sewer grants and EPA's Radon Action Program. The group also supported eliminating EPA's power to veto specific projects and programs, delegating the agency's enforcement powers to the states, and creating new "class or general permits" for the storage and treatment of hazardous waste.¹²

Takings
Keyes supports "takings" legislation that would require payment to property owners if federal regulations"reduce property values."¹³ Speaking at a forum sponsored by the New Hampshire Wildlife Federation in 1996, Keyes said that private interests can generally be more effective in protecting the environment than tough government controls. While Keyes acknowledged that there are some cases where the EPA is necessary, he said the agency often goes too far in telling landowners what they can do on their own property. Keyes urged a "common sense" approach to environmental laws that balanced conservation and regulation.¹⁴

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THE RECORD AT HOME

Alan Keyes lives in Maryland, where he has twice run for U.S. Senate. Environmental issues were not prominent in his campaigns and interviews with Maryland environmental leaders reveal little knowledge of Keyes or his positions on state environmental issues.

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NOTES

1 Energy America Education Fund, 1996 U.S. Presidential Candidates Environmental & Energy Issues Questionnaire, 7 February 1996
2 Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (1990), Hearing before the Water and Power Subcommittee, 31 July 1990
3 Energy America Education Fund, 1996 U.S. Presidential Candidates Environmental & Energy Issues Questionnaire, 7 February 1996
4 Jim Camden, "Candidates vague on environment," Spokane Spokesman-Review, 15 February 1996
5 Energy America Education Fund, 1996 U.S. Presidential Candidates Environmental & Energy Issues Questionnaire, 7 February 1996
6 "GOP Candidate stumps Alaska," Anchorage Daily News, 28 November 1995
7 Energy America Education Fund, 1996 U.S. Presidential Candidates Environmental & Energy Issues Questionnaire, 7 February 1996
8 Alan Keyes, "Let's fight to save lives - and the family car," Houston Chronicle, 3 May 1991
9 "The Presidential Candidates Sound Off," Washington Post, 25 October 1999
10 House Appropriations Committee (1986), Hearings before the Foreign Operations and Related Agencies Subcommittee, 9 April 1986
11 "Where they Stand: The Environment," Hartford Courant, 28 February 1996
12 Citizens Against Government Waste Web site, http://www.cagw.org/PrimeCuts98/epa.htm, 15 April 1999
13 Energy America Education Fund, 1996 U.S. Presidential Candidates Environmental & Energy Issues Questionnaire, 7 February 1996
14 "Campaign '96: Gore slams GOP candidates for avoiding department," Greenwire, 1 February 1996