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Pentagon worried about spiking oil prices
AFP
After spending 15 billion dollars on oil in 2007, the Pentagon said Tuesday it was concerned over rising prices, since for every dollar oil goes up in price, an extra 130 million has to be added to its budget.
(23 April 2008)
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett Joins 8 GOP Colleagues in Letter to Speaker Pelosi Concerning Steps to Alleviate High Gas Prices
Rep. Bartlett’s office
Congressman Roscoe Bartlett joined with eight of his Republican House colleagues to send a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recommending steps to alleviate high gasoline and diesel prices. Copies of the letter were sent to President George W. Bush as well as House Republican Leader John Boehner. A copy of the signed letter is attached.
Excerpts are below:
Dear Madam Speaker:
Americans across the country fear gasoline prices of $4.00 a gallon this summer, while truck drivers are already paying over $4.00 a gallon for diesel fuel in many parts of the country. We are writing to recommend careful consideration of proposals that could alleviate this burden for the short-term, and better meet the country’s long-term energy needs. There are several areas we feel deserve careful consideration for the short-term.
… we should consider suspending petroleum acquisition for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and boost efforts to increase refinery capability.
… an expansion of refining capacity by streamlining the permitting process for expanding current facilities or building new facilities without waiving environmental laws could speed the supply of fuel into the market.
… The United States should consider working with other oil importing countries to require more transparency from oil producing countries, so that information about available reserves and production capacity would be more verifiable.
… There has been discussion of a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax in an effort to immediately lower the price of gasoline at the pump. While this tax moratorium may have appeal, we urge you to protect funding for the Highway Trust Fund and critical infrastructure upgrades.
… Basic conservation and efficiency measures such as maintaining driving speeds of not more than 55 miles per hour and proper tire inflation can make an immediate difference, slowing gasoline consumption and saving consumers money.
…adoption of long-term extensions of existing and new tax incentives for renewable energy production and alternative energy research and development, as well as providing tax incentives for auto manufacturers and consumers to make and purchase clean vehicle technologies, remain critical for providing the type of certainty industry needs to produce the next generation of electricity and transportation technologies necessary to shift transportation off oil.
The finite supply of oil in the world ensures that our dependence will always directly correlate to the world’s supply and demand structure. While pursuing immediate relief to skyrocketing fuel and energy costs, we must actively work to reduce our dependence on oil and create a more comprehensive and balanced energy strategy that will benefit Americans now and well into the future.
Sincerely,
Roscoe G. Bartlett
Wayne T. Gilchrest
Michael N. Castle
Vernon J. Ehlers
Ray LaHood
Jim Gerlach
Christopher Shays
Timothy V. Johnson
Todd Russell Platts
(23 April 2008)
Barack Obama still takes in oil money
Dan Morain, Los Angeles Times
Sen. Barack Obama continued accepting donations from oil company executives and employees last month even as he aired ads in which he stated he took no oil company money, his campaign finance reports show.
Obama has taken at least $263,000 from oil company executives, family members and employees since entering the presidential race last year, including $46,000 last month
… Donors who spoke with The Times said their contributions were not directed by their employers.
Bill Mintz, communications director for Apache Corp., a Houston-based oil company, said his decision to give — he contributed $2,300 in February before Obama’s ad aired — was neither solicited by his company executives nor by Obama’s campaign.
Mintz said in an interview that the Obama ad did not make him regret his donation. But he also said the spot underscored what he saw as a persistent problem in the political discourse over energy.
“I don’t think either party is addressing the country’s and world’s energy needs realistically,” Mintz said. “We’re not going to produce our way out of this and we’re not going to solve the problem with conservation and alternative energy.”
(24 April 2008)
Contributor dlewis points out:
A very interesting comment from an oil industry person at the end of this article [reprinted above]
