Denver Post: Obama Urges Oil Alternatives as Gas Heads Up

By Allison Sherry

WASHINGTON - As gas prices climb to their highest levels in more than two years, President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats are attempting to recapture the issue from Republicans - who have been angry for months that there is not more domestic oil production - by pushing conservation and energy alternatives.

In an address Wednesday, Obama said he wanted to decrease the United States' dependency on foreign oil by one-third over the next 10 years.

To get there, Obama said, the U.S. should get oil from friendlier countries, such as Mexico and Brazil, and rely more on local oil production. He also said development of more fuel-efficient vehicles should continue.

"We have been down this road before," Obama said. "We cannot keep going from shock when gas prices are up to trance when they go back down."

Republicans - including Colorado House members of the Natural Resources and Energy and Commerce committees - do not necessarily disagree with the president's ultimate goal.

"Any time we can wean ourselves off of overseas oil, it's a good thing," said Rep. Cory Gardner, a Yuma Republican. "But the problem with the administration's approach is that he's not giving Americans the tools to develop their own resources."

Fresh from a week-long recess during which House and Senate Democrats and Republicans heard gripes from constituents about the soaring cost of gasoline, both parties have responded this week with legislation and demands to come up with a solution.

"In rural areas where work can be 50 miles from home and the mechanic 10 miles in the opposite direction, a fluctuation of just a few cents, as we've heard, in gas prices quickly can drive up the day-to-day cost of living," Sen. Michael Bennet said Wednesday. "It might mean choosing between driving to work and paying the heating bill," said the Denver Democrat.

Bennet said the average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Colorado is $3.42 - 45 cents more than it was two months ago. The national average is $3.58, according to AAA.

Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado Springs, introduced this week three pieces of legislation aimed at increasing domestic oil production through requiring the administration to move forward on U.S. energy production.

Though industry experts have said it may take more than a year for that production to yield gasoline on the market, Lamborn said, "Every barrel helps."

"I welcome the president's desire to have more energy, but a lot of his plan is based on tried and failed strategies in the past," Lamborn said, noting that renewable energy "is not something that is available yet and is more wishful thinking."

Gardner, who sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, is working on legislation that would boost domestic energy production.

He said Wednesday that the president "seems to be all about energy, as long as it doesn't come from the United States."

"It's a situation where his rhetoric doesn't match his action," Gardner said. "We need an administration policy that is working to create jobs, working to facilitate environmentally responsible action."

Democratic Sen. Mark Udall of Eldorado Springs demanded Wednesday that U.S. trade representative Ron Kirk and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton investigate global oil-market imperfections "and even possible manipulation or collusion by oil-exporting countries" that would drive up prices, he said.

"Speculation is an inherent part of any market," Udall said. "However, some experts have raised concerns that overspeculation has contributed to the recent spike . . . and, as a result, unnaturally increased the cost of gasoline at the pumps."

Obama on Wednesday called for new incentives to boost production of oil, natural gas and biofuels; tougher fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles; and greater reliance on cleaner sources of energy, including nuclear power.

On the conservation front, Obama will direct all federal departments to purchase only cars that use alternative fuel or are run by electric or hybrid power by 2015.

"The United States of America cannot afford to bet our long-term prosperity and our long-term security on a resource that will eventually run out," he said.

Link to Original Article: http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_17739104?source=commented-