DKSuddeth
Senior Member
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=615&u=/nm/20040324/pl_nm/energy_bush_dc_1&printer=1
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush is concerned about record high gasoline prices but does not plan to halt shipments for now to the U.S. oil stockpile known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the White House said on Wednesday.
"Like most Americans, the president is concerned about rising gas prices," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
The average U.S. retail gasoline price climbed to a all-time high of $1.74 per gallon this week, with prices in California well above $2 a gallon.
A group of House lawmakers, including some from Bush's own Republican Party, have asked the administration to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Asked whether the Bush administration planned to stop replenishing the reserve, McClellan replied: "No. We need to make sure we have the resources in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to act in the event of a national emergency, which would be a severe disruption of energy supply."
"We need to make sure we have the necessary supply of oil in reserve," he added.
On Tuesday, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said the government will not halt deliveries of crude oil to the nation's emergency stockpile, citing national security concerns.
Democrats have seized the jump in gasoline prices as a political issue, saying that an American family with two cars will spend nearly all of its average $400 federal tax rebate on higher gasoline prices this summer.
McClellan renewed a call for Congress to pass a bill to overhaul U.S. energy policies, which is one of Bush's key legislative priorities.
this is either a continued attempt to force drilling in the ANWR, preparation for another war or conflict somewhere, or advanced knowledge of a terrorist attack inside the US. Just my little conspiracy theory :
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush is concerned about record high gasoline prices but does not plan to halt shipments for now to the U.S. oil stockpile known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the White House said on Wednesday.
"Like most Americans, the president is concerned about rising gas prices," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
The average U.S. retail gasoline price climbed to a all-time high of $1.74 per gallon this week, with prices in California well above $2 a gallon.
A group of House lawmakers, including some from Bush's own Republican Party, have asked the administration to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Asked whether the Bush administration planned to stop replenishing the reserve, McClellan replied: "No. We need to make sure we have the resources in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to act in the event of a national emergency, which would be a severe disruption of energy supply."
"We need to make sure we have the necessary supply of oil in reserve," he added.
On Tuesday, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said the government will not halt deliveries of crude oil to the nation's emergency stockpile, citing national security concerns.
Democrats have seized the jump in gasoline prices as a political issue, saying that an American family with two cars will spend nearly all of its average $400 federal tax rebate on higher gasoline prices this summer.
McClellan renewed a call for Congress to pass a bill to overhaul U.S. energy policies, which is one of Bush's key legislative priorities.
this is either a continued attempt to force drilling in the ANWR, preparation for another war or conflict somewhere, or advanced knowledge of a terrorist attack inside the US. Just my little conspiracy theory :