-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! May 16, 2001, 10:01AM Democrats unveil own energy plan By KAREN MASTERSON Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle WASHINGTON -- House Democrats unveiled a national energy plan Tuesday that promotes conservation over production and draws battle lines against a White House plan due out this week that calls for more oil drilling and at least 1,300 new power plants. Gathered at an Exxon station 12 blocks from the Capitol, a half-dozen key Democrats attempted to portray President Bush as a friend of Texas oil industries, not consumers. "We need the president to learn he doesn't work for the oil companies anymore, he works for us," said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., referring to Bush's years as an oil executive. But more than anything, Democrats sought to distinguish themselves from the GOP and carve out energy policy initiatives they intend to carry into a crucial political battle over control of Congress in 2002. "It's time for us to have an energy policy that listens to the people of this country and responds to their concerns," House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri said outside the gas station Tuesday. A recent Gallup Poll found 47 percent of the public favors a green approach to energy policies, while 35 percent prefers a boost in energy production. And although the public is nearly split on nuclear power, a majority opposes drilling in the Arctic wilderness. However, in a sign that the White House message is catching on, the number of Americans who see conservation as the best way out of an energy crunch dropped from 56 percent two months ago. At issue is which party can portray itself as a friend of the environment, while also appearing to be capable of tackling serious energy problems that range from the California electricity shortage to the country's insatiable thirst for oil. Bush's plan, which Vice President Dick Cheney will unveil Thursday, is expected to call for a combination of tax incentives and relaxed environmental regulations for new power plants, including nuclear power, over the next 20 years. And the Bush plan is expected to call for continued reliance on coal and push for oil exploration in the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other federal lands now closed to oil exploration. Bush has said such policies are necessary to meet the country's long-term demand for energy, and to avoid the shortages that already have caused blackouts and brownouts in Western states, and could hit other areas of the country this summer. As for high gas prices, Bush has said there is little he can do in the short term, except to push for retroactive tax cuts that put more money in people's pockets this year. Unlike his education and tax cut proposals that arrived on Capitol Hill with detailed legislative instruction that House Republican leaders have tried to follow almost to the letter, the president's energy policy is not expected to be accompanied by proposed legislation. Instead, administration officials have said that the White House energy policy is designed to nudge Congress toward the easing of complicated regulations that for years have discouraged construction of new power plants and expansion of oil refineries. Bush's plan also is expected to include environmentally friendly recommendations to complement, not replace, production. Those recommendations include tax incentives for hybrid automobiles and research and development of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar energy. The Democrats' plan would surpass Bush's environmental overtures, making them central to answering the country's long-term energy needs. Democrats also would concentrate on conservation by placing emissions standards on sport utility vehicles and air conditioners, and fuel efficiency requirements on all trucks, sport utility vehicles and minivans. To help ease oil shortages and resulting high gas prices, Democrats called on Bush to look toward the country's strategic oil reserves and ask oil-producing countries to release more crude. The Democrats' plan also would place federal caps on the amount utilities may charge consumers, answering a call from California's Democratic governor to help control high prices public utility companies have had to pay for wholesale electricity. "The energy plan offered by the Democrats on the Hill has some areas of overlapping commonality with the plan that the president is about to propose, and the president looks forward to working with Congress on those areas," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. But he added that some parts of the Democratic plan "do not go in the right direction," including the electricity price caps and tapping the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Cheney defended Bush's plan in an interview with Reuters, absolving OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, of blame for record-high U.S. gasoline prices. Cheney said he saw little need for Bush to try to pressure oil-rich nations into increasing crude production. "A big part of our difficulty today with respect to gasoline prices doesn't have anything to do with the price of crude," Cheney said. The Bush administration charges that refineries are unable to pump out enough oil to satisfy demand, shortening the supply and causing prices to go up. "The country can make the amount of gasoline the country needs," said Gene Edwards, a vice president of Valero Energy Co. in San Antonio. But he said his company's refineries -- already running at full capacity -- would need to expand to meet needs. Edwards said the Bush plan would help, particularly if it encourages Congress to establish tax incentives, expedites permitting and offers less cumbersome environmental standards for building and expanding refineries. But Bush's plan to focus on meeting demand instead of reducing it frustrates Democrats. "The vice president is wrong when he says conservation is a "personal virtue' " and not a national energy policy, Inslee said, referring to a statement Cheney made a few weeks ago. "It's also an economic virtue." Meanwhile, House Republicans called the Democrat's plan inadequate at best. "It's like steroids: a plan that may make you look good in the short term, but will hurt you in the long term," said Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla., chairman of the House Republican Conference. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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