Bush readies speech on climate change

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S.
President George W. Bush’s annual speech to Congress next week is likely to call for a massive increase in U.S. ethanol usage and tweak climate change policy while stopping short of mandatory emissions caps, sources familiar with White House plans said on Tuesday.

Bush’s annual State of the Union address is expected to touch on key energy policy points, after Bush made the surprise pronouncement during last year’s address that the United States is addicted to Middle East crude oil supplies.

A rising focus on “energy security” by both the Bush administration and Congress has added momentum to efforts to employ home-grown fuel sources like ethanol to reduce U.S. dependency on oil imports.

Following that theme, Bush is likely to call for more U.S. usage of home-grown supplies of ethanol, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Reuters