Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas A Watson who wrote (710595)	11/2/2005 3:11:45 PM
From: pompsander	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

White House and Republican leaders can't agree...if it looks like a "tax", why, it must be bad! WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration opposes a Republican proposal that oil companies voluntarily contribute some of their record profits to a federal fund that helps poor Americans pay winter heating bills, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT On Tuesday, Senate Finance Chairman Charles Grassley sent a letter to U.S. energy companies, urging them to donate 10 percent of their swelling profits to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Asked by reporters if the administration supported the plan, Bodman responded: "No, sir. I wouldn't support it. It is similar to a tax." Bodman made his remarks after addressing an energy industry group. Last year, the LIHEAP program spent $2.2 billion to help poor and elderly Americans pay their winter heating bills. Democrats say the fund should be doubled for this winter. Bodman also said the White House was considering a variety of proposals to address high energy prices, including federal funding for LIHEAP, more offshore oil drilling, and creating a U.S. natural gas reserve that would be "analogous to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve," as well as a stockpile of refined products. Announcements on such initiatives would be ready in "weeks," he said.