But not ANWAR, or the Gulf of Mexico. (off Florida's coast)
I guess I'm just confuzed.
Posted on 04/25/2006 8:02:28 AM PDT by Kaslin
WASHINGTON - President Bush moved Tuesday to temporarily halt deposits to the nation's strategic petroleum reserve, making more oil available for consumer needs while seeking to relieve pressure on pump prices.
Bush also announced steps to ease environmental standards governing fuel grades.
The moves came as political pressure intensified on Bush to do something about gasoline prices that are expected to stay high throughout the summer.
Bush said the nation's strategic petroleum reserve had enough fuel to guard against any major supply disruption over the next few months.
"So, by deferring deposits until the fall, we'll leave a little more oil on the market. Every little bit helps," he said.
The reserve holds 685 million barrels, available for use in an emergency.
Bush also called on oil companies, which are enjoying record profits, to increase their investments in alternate sources of oil.
During the last few days, Bush asked his Energy and Justice departments to open inquiries into whether the price of gasoline has been illegally manipulated, said White House press secretary Scott McClellan.
It's unclear what impact, if any, Bush's investigation would have on prices that are near or at $3 a gallon or more. Asked if Bush had any reason to suspect market manipulation, McClellan responded, "Well, gas prices are high right now, and that's why you want to make sure there's not."
Republicans who control Congress have become concerned that the high cost of filling up could become a problem for them in the November elections. Polls suggest that voters favor Democrats over Republicans on the issue, and Bush gets low marks for handling gasoline prices.
The administration sent letters Tuesday to state attorneys general urging them to vigorously enforce state law "against any anticompetitive, anticonsumer conduct in the petroleum industry."
"Consumers around the nation have expressed concerns about what they have perceived as anticompetitive or otherwise unfair conduct by the world's major oil companies," said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras. Their letter said federal agencies had substantially increased efforts to monitor, detect and prevent any violations of the law.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., urged Bush in a letter Monday to order a federal investigation into any gasoline price gouging or market speculation.
"There is no silver bullet," Frist said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America," but "we need to make sure that any efforts at price-gouging be addressed and addressed aggressively." Meanwhile, Frist said, consumers should take steps to conserve gasoline — drive at slower speeds, tune up car engines for maximum efficiency and carpool.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada dispatched his own letter, calling for a multi-pronged approach to restrain gas prices. Among the steps were swift enactment of anti-price gouging legislation, an appeal to oil companies to refrain from further price increases, use of more alternative fuels and increased attention to existing fuel-saving laws and regulations.
Bush has said consistently that gas prices are high because global demand is rising faster than global supply and that the problem cannot be solved overnigh
Interesting. The Democrat solution in the past has been to use these reserves while continuing to buy them back at high prices. By refusing to buy at high prices we are in a way practicing "conservation" however expect the Dems to say we are risking our national security by not continuing to buy oil at inflated prices.
Build more refineries.
But not ANWAR, or the Gulf of Mexico. (off Florida's coast)
I guess I'm just confuzed.
Bush pushed for *ANWR
and no you arent confuzed, you are confused.
bump
Someone should write an article about how if we had listened to the Democrats in 2004, we'd have sold millions of barrels of oil from SPR at 30 bucks a barrel,and now we'd be competing for a dwindling supply to replenish it at 70 bucks a barrel.
But oddly, the media doesn't seem to focus on what harm would have come if we had listened to the democrats who now want to be in power.
This is why the democrats have stopped offering solutions -- time proves them to be foolish.
Note that Reid's plan has almost nothing in it that isn't already happening -- just the "better price-gouging law", which by itself wouldn't do anything for the prices.
There is a difference.
And BTW ... Bush "pushed" nothing. He may have wanted to, but he hasn't got any "push", or hadn't you noticed?
You know the drill.
Not very hard. He could have vetoed energy bills which didn't open ANWR. But he didn't want the fight so he signed them without ANWR and hoped for better later.
It's amazing how many folks don't realize that crude selling at $74 bucks a barrel is the major cause of the price spike!
A good breakdown of the cost of gas here:
http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/margins/index.html
But of course...they won't cut the taxes on fuel!!
.
I followed your link, which showed that (March 6 - April 6, 2006) while crude prices went up 20 cents, profits went up 22 cents!!
Which proves what this article says:
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/pr/?postId=6133
It's more due to profit-taking than the price of crude.
What's the profit margin for the Saudi's who extract a barrel of oil for $4 and sell it for $74?
We need to expand our refining capacity, said Pres Bush. That is not the same as building more refineries.
Next thing Bush needs to do is push congress to repeal that stinking tariff on imported ethanol that is driving up gasoline prices.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.