“The strength of America’s supply chains is an indicator of our security and economic standing in the world. It determines our dependence on foreign suppliers to meet consumer demand, and our reliance on other countries — including rivals and adversaries, like China — to support our military readiness and mission capability.” Syracuse University professor Sean O’Keefe offered this perspective today for The Hill, alongside General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC, RET.
Sean O’Keefe
O’Keefe, a University Professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, served four times as a presidential appointee: at NASA; as Secretary of the Navy; as Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Deputy Assistant to the President; and as Comptroller and CFO at the Defense Department.
His first presidential appointment followed nearly a decade with the US Senate Appropriations Committee concluding as staff director of defense subcommittee. Between public service posts and at various times in his career, he held faculty appointments at the Pennsylvania State University, LSU and Syracuse. Following completion of his graduate degree at the Syracuse Maxwell School, his public service experiences began as a Presidential Management Intern in the inaugural class of the program in 1978.
O’Keefe is the recipient of the Defense Department’s Distinguished Public Service Award, the faculty recipient of the Syracuse University Chancellor’s Award for Public Service; the Department of Navy’s Public Service Award and has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from five higher education institutions
Professor O’Keefe and General Zinni (USMC, RET.) noted in their commentary:
“Any weaknesses in America’s supply chain indicate to national adversaries — and criminal opportunists — our nation’s greatest vulnerabilities. And right now, our own federal policy — the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) — is weakening our supply chain security.
Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced it would take several actions to strengthen supply chains. President Biden has vowed to confront ‘the ambitions of an autocratic China.’ The Biden administration’s focus on our nation’s supply chain security and on curbing China’s aggressive strategy are welcome. But it is more than a little disconcerting that a well-meaning policy to increase biofuels has become a self-inflicted wound that poses an ever-growing threat to our national security and global standing as more domestic refineries succumb to the unsustainable costs of the RFS.”
For more information or to request an interview with Prof. O’Keefe, please contact:
Joshua M. Grossman ’03
Director of Media Relations
Division of Communications and Marketing
Washington, DC
T 202.227.9250
jmgrossm@syr.edu
news.syr.edu | syracuse.edu
