Democratic senator calls for GOP to alter energy policy

WASHINGTON – The public must pressure Republicans in the White House and Congress to change directions in the country’s energy policies, which have pushed oil and gas prices to record highs, a Democratic lawmaker said Saturday.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow said the rising price of oil, fostered by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney’s close ties to the oil industry, is no longer just a burden.



“Now it is a crisis for every American family,” the Michigan senator said in the Democrats’ weekly radio address. She called the current energy situation “a crisis that doesn’t just affect us at the pump, but also raises the prices of groceries, increases our home heating bills and squeezes small businesses trying to keep their heads above water.”

“Republicans want more drilling, more consumption and more tax giveaways for the big oil companies,” she said. “Democrats say that those are exactly the policies that got us into this mess to begin with.”

AP