Democrats Attack Bush Energy Policy, Oil Industry Tax Breaks

Timothy J. Burger Sat May 10, 11:17 AM ET

May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow attacked the Republican Bush administration's energy policy and tax breaks for the oil industry, urging investment in alternative energy.

Gasoline prices have risen as high as $4 a gallon, from $1.50 when President George W. Bush took office, Stabenow said today. The rise in energy costs has gone from ``annoyance'' to ``crisis,'' affecting everything from the price of groceries to home-heating bills.

``Republicans want more drilling, more consumption, and more tax giveaways for the big oil companies,'' Stabenow, from Michigan, said in the Democratic Party's weekly radio address. ``Democrats say that those are exactly the policies that got us into this mess to begin with.''

A plan backed by Democrats, who hold a majority in the House and Senate, ``ends the billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil companies whose executives have been hauling record profits while we pay record prices,'' Stabenow said.

Stabenow also said the Democrats' plan would force greater investment in ``clean and affordable alternative energy,'' and protect consumers from ``price gougers'' and ``greedy oil traders.''

Record oil and gasoline prices are prompting lawmakers to draft proposals aimed at easing consumers' pain at the gas pump during an election year. Republican senators last week introduced a plan to increase domestic production, which many Democrats have opposed. Democrats unveiled a legislative plan that includes a halt to Strategic Petroleum Reserve contributions on May 7.

Summer Driving Season

Democrats have said they hope their legislative proposals will get votes before the Memorial Day start of the summer driving season, when gas prices usually rise. Bush has threatened to veto many of the measures being considered.

Gas prices climbed 15 cents, to $3.62 a gallon, in the two weeks leading up to May 2, according to a survey of 7,000 filling stations across the country by Trilby Lundberg. Crude oil for June delivery closed at an all-time high of $125.96 a barrel at 2:55 p.m. yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bush and fellow Republicans ``have had more than seven years to control our national energy policy,'' Stabenow, 58, said. ``Time after time, they have sided with big special interests and left the rest of us to pay the bill.''

Presidential candidates Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, and Hillary Clinton, a Democrat of New York, are calling for a summertime ``holiday'' on federal gasoline taxes.

To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy J. Burger in Washington at Tburger2@bloomberg.net