Bush presents new energy plan

by Ron Fournier
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Bush braced Americans yesterday for a summer of blackouts, layoffs, business closings and skyrocketing fuel costs and warned of "a darker future" without his aggressive plans to drill for more oil and gas, and rejuvenate nuclear power.

"If we fail to act, Americans will face more and more widespread blackouts. If we fail to act, our country will become more reliant on foreign crude oil, putting our national energy security into the hands of foreign nations," the president said in releasing a 163-page energy task force report in St. Paul, Minn.

Seeking to dampen demand for fossil fuels and to appeal to conservation-minded citizens, Bush also offered tax incentives for people using alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power.

Democrats and environmental groups raised a chorus of objections, promising a pitched battle over Bush's regulatory and legislative initiative.

"It focuses on drilling and production at the expense of our environment and conservation," House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., said. "And it does nothing to help people who need relief right now."

Even Republican lawmakers acknowledged the plan was filled with provisions that would be hard for some of their constituents to swallow. "Everybody understands there are a lot of ... problems out there," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

Bush, on the road in the Midwest, was hoping to build support for long-term solutions while many people are complaining about short-term energy woes.

California Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, accused Bush of turning a blind eye to the state and tied the former Texas governor to the oil industry. "We are literally in a war with energy companies, many of which reside in Texas," Davis said.

Of the dozens of recommendations stuffed between the report's glossy, blue covers, none offers immediate relief.

In the report developed by Vice President Dick Cheney, Bush seeks to increase energy supplies by easing restrictions on oil and gas development on public lands, including a wildlife refuge in Alaska. He also will order agencies to expedite permits for energy-related projects.

Bush also wants to give the federal government power to seize private property for the use of transmission lines. That "eminent domain" initiative was greeted coolly by lawmakers, including some Republicans.