When did the energy crisis start? Hmmmmm, explain how our country already knew the prices were going to spike way before Bush was even a candidate. Is he THAT smart that he pulled the strings of Clinton too?
AS, your idiotic posts are lame...
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With winter just around the corner and the cost of oil rising, Clinton administration officials and members of Congress sparred during a House hearing Thursday over whether tapping into the nation's emergency supply of oil would ease the current crisis.
Burton
"Energy prices are soaring all around us," House Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton, R-Indiana, said during Thursday's hearing. "If this situation continues, every American family across the country is going to feel the impact this winter and next summer. No one is going to be immune."
Led by Burton, several members of Congress chided Clinton administration officials for what they said was the administration's failure to generate a comprehensive energy policy, and its reliance on burdensome environmental regulations.
The administration officials, in turn, contended that Congress has stymied energy policy legislation for the past two years. Lawmakers have neither provided the additional funds the president requested for low-income energy assistance, nor authorized legislation that would lower energy costs, such as electric utility restructuring, officials said.
"Congress' delayed action to extend the Energy Conservation Act of 1992 has resulted in stalled action," said Energy Secretary Bill Richardson. He was joined by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner as well as James Hoecker, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Richardson
"We have been saying we need a home heating oil reserve, we've been saying that stocks are low, and we need (legislation) passed," Richardson said. "We need the Congress to approve a reasonable trigger for releasing the oil in the reserve."
In June, President Clinton established a home heating oil reserve of 2 million barrels for New England. But some members of Congress -- and now Vice President Al Gore -- are calling for an immediate release of a portion of the 570 million barrels of crude oil in the Strategic Petroleum Oil Reserve (SPRO). The stockpile, contained in four underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana, is intended for use in national emergencies.
Since its creation during the oil crisis of the mid-1970s, the reserve has been tapped only once -- during the 1991 Gulf War. The president is said to be weighing whether to dip into the 60-day reserve to replenish the nation's supply of crude oil.
"The president will decide within the next few days on what to do with the reserve. The decision is based on whether the American consumer will be harmed and he will not hesitate to take steps that are needed," Richardson said.
But, he added, Congress must first authorize a "trigger" for when it is appropriate to release portions of the reserve.
"I need full authority. I don't care what is holding it up. We just need to get it done -- this is for the national interest. I'm just stating a fact. It's not authorized," Richardson said in response to prodding from Rep. Chris Shays, R-Connecticut.
The costs of home heating oil soared to a 10-year high last winter in New England. Compared to last summer, residents this year have been faced with a three-fold increase in "rolling brownouts," in which electrical voltage is cut back in areas on a rotating basis to reduce consumption. And, in some areas of the country, energy bills have more than doubled.
Thursday's hearing marked the third day of testimony on the high cost of home heating oil and natural gas. On Wednesday, Burton heard from oil and gas executives, utility operators and industry policy analysts.
Burton recited a list of obstacles that utility and oil industry representatives said they faced during Wednesday's hearing, including complying with local, state and federal regulations under the 1990 Clean Air Act, and inadequate infrastructure.
Browner
"No one is saying that public health protections, pollution reductions are without cost," said EPA's Browner. "Reducing pollution is an invaluable investment in our citizens and in our environment. Time and time we have been able to show that the benefits far outweigh the costs."
And Richardson came under fire for what Republicans said was the administration's attempt to blame the oil industry for the high prices.
"This is a political campaign," Richardson said. "I am the energy secretary for the Clinton-Gore administration. I want to fix the problem and I want to fix it with you. Oil industry profits are up. American people have questions about the high price of oil."
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), he said, "has been working with us quietly in the last three instances they have raised production levels -- not enough -- but the fact is that we have a demand problem."
OPEC agreed to increase oil supplies by 800,000 barrels per day at a meeting in Vienna on Sept. 10, but the additional barrels are due to appear on the market from October 1. Weighing in on Thursday's controversy on Capitol Hill, OPEC President Ali Rodriguez said that tapping into the U.S. reserves would not result in a reduction of prices.
Many Republicans see expanded oil and gas exploration on federal lands as a better answer.
"These problems aren't going to go away by themselves," Burton said. "If we don't develop a tough energy policy and stick to it, we are just going to keep lurching from one crisis to another. ... We have to have a strong energy policy that will help us become more self sufficient."
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report |
