WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Hard Question™ debate series hosted by Blanquita Cullum will launch on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 with the first of four conversations on the future of American Energy Policy at The National Press Club before President's State of the Union address.  The conversation begins with 'Setting the Course on Energy'. The quarterly debate series will accompany The Hard Question™ a weekly national TV program on MHz Networks, reaching 42M households across 32 markets.

"No issue touches people across the globe like energy, and The Hard Question will never shrink from tackling the real-life obstacles of such a life-changing issue," said Cullum. "Now, as we embark on a new era with the historic re-election of President Obama, the country will set a course on energy that will have critical implications for this planet for decades to come."

Doors open at 5 pm.

Welcome: U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas), a member of the Congress since 2009, serves on the House Energy & Commerce Committee

5:30 pm-PANEL 1: The President's Agenda—the future of traditional Energy vs. Alternatives at 5:30 pm

The panelists include: W. Herbert Hunt, Petro-Hunt; John Hofmeister, former president of Shell and founder of Citizens for Affordable Energy; Doug Cain, Lake Truck Lines; Kevin Book, Clear View Energy Partners; Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, ACORE; David Martineau, Chairman TIPR and Bruce Vincent, Swift Energy.  

PANEL 2:  "Climate Change - Science or Hype?"

6:30 pm- Panel 2:  Climate Change – Science or Hype?

The second panel will begin at 6:30pm.  Panelists: include Leighton Steward, Plants Need CO2; former NASA scientist Harold Doiron; Scott Sklar, The Stella Group; Daniel Weiss of the Center for American Progress; Monica Dorhoi, World Bank; Kevin Book, CleanView Energy Partners and David Kreutzer of the Heritage Foundation.

The Honorable Blanquita Walsh Cullum, the host of The Hard Question, is a former presidentially appointed, Senate confirmed Governor on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees all U.S international broadcasting. She has appeared and hosted television shows on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and National Empowerment Television. For more than a decade, Cullum was named one of the Top 100 Hosts in the industry (Talkers Magazine) and is a former President of the National Association of Radio Talk Show hosts.

National Press Club: 529 14^th Street NW, Washington DC

SOURCE The Hard Question