Bush Details Energy Plans
May 05 - Augusta Chronicle, The
President Bush, facing economic and political damage from soaring gasoline prices, offered proposals Wednesday to speed construction of nuclear power plants and oil refineries and boost sales of energy-efficient vehicles.
Mr. Bush lamented to small business owners that he was powerless to cut gas
prices.
"This problem did not develop overnight and it's not going to be fixed
overnight. But it's now time to fix it," he said.
Mr. Bush said the problem is that energy supplies are not growing fast enough
to meet demand.
"See, we've got a fundamental question we got to face here in
America," he said. "Do we want to continue to grow more dependent on
other nations to meet our energy needs? Or do we need to do what is necessary to
achieve greater control of our economic destiny?"
America has not ordered a nuclear power plant since the 1970s. Mr. Bush said
France has built 58 plants in the same time and today gets more than 78 percent
of its electricity from nuclear power.
"It's time for America to start building again," he said.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called Mr. Bush's initiatives
"little more than half-measures and wrongheaded policies." He said
Senate Democrats will offer a much larger package of tax incentives - double the
$8 billion approved by the House - and funnel more of the money to renewable
energy sources and energy efficiency measures. For far more extensive news on the energy/power
visit: http://www.energycentral.com
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