New Mexico News
| N.M.'s Senators: Don't Expect Gas Prices To Drop Anytime Soon |
| Posted by () on May 22 2008 at 1:30 PM |
WASHINGTON— Americans hoping for a break on gasoline prices this summer shouldn't hold their breath, two powerful New Mexico lawmakers said Wednesday.
Sens. Jeff Bingaman, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Pete Domenici, the committee's top Republican, said gas prices— already at $4 a gallon in parts of the country— are unlikely to drop anytime soon.
Global demand for oil is driving prices up at the pump and there is little that Congress can do about it, they said.
"There is no short-term answer," Domenici told reporters at the National Press Club on Wednesday. "I don't think any politician, or any leader, that is currently around has a bona fide solution to the price of gasoline.
"The price is totally dependent on the world market for crude oil, and the demand for crude oil is insatiable," Domenici said.
He said Americans can help stabilize gas prices in the longer term by using less gas and pushing federal policymakers to open domestic oil reserves— such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and shale oil deposits in Colorado— to drilling.
"If we really believe we have a crisis, then we ought to produce more homegrown product," Domenici said. "We are leaving a lot of oil and gas unattended in the United States."
Small fixes
Bingaman, in a telephone interview with the Journal, agreed that it is impossible to dramatically alter gas prices— at least in the near-term. But he said minor short-term remedies might be available.
"There may be some things we can do on the margin, and we clearly should try," Bingaman said.
Congress could pass a law to rein in oil and gas speculators who are "bidding up the price" of oil, Bingaman said. He also said Congress and the White House could suspend the filling of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The U.S. currently buys about 78,000 barrels of oil a day and stores it underground in the event of an emergency. Bingaman said that the reserve is about 95 percent full and that suspending the U.S. purchase for a while could help boost global supply, he said.
"It makes no sense to me to have the government buy this oil at $115 or $120 per barrel and put it in the ground," Bingaman said.
A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline cost $3.49 on average in New Mexico on Wednesday, and $3.53 nationally, according to the American Automobile Association.
Pelosi plan
Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill signaled that high gas prices could remain a hot topic through the November elections.
House Republican leaders on Monday challenged Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to come up with a plan to stabilize prices, noting that she vowed to do so two years ago when Democrats were in the congressional minority.
On Wednesday, Pelosi sent a letter to President Bush urging him to agree to pursue allegations of oil cartel price fixing, punish price gougers, end subsidies to major American oil companies and redirect that money to clean energy projects.
Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said that high gas prices "are hammering the middle class" and that developing renewable fuel supplies, such as wind and solar, should be a national priority. Renewable energy can generate electricity, which could power cars in the future.
"While it's true there is nothing that can be done to bring down gas prices tomorrow, there is a lot we can do to reduce our dependence on oil and other finite fossil fuels," Udall said in a prepared statement.
'Gas tax holiday'
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has called for a suspension of the 18-cent-per-gallon federal gasoline tax from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The summer months typically bring an increase in U.S. gas consumption.
Domenici, who will retire in January after 36 years in office, called the proposal shortsighted.
"The price of gasoline might continue to rise, so even if it were done, we might not even get the whole benefit," said Domenici, who has endorsed McCain for president.
Federal gasoline taxes are used to build and repair roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure.
"We desperately need new roads, we need bypasses, we need freeways, and that's where that money goes," Domenici said. "I'm willing to listen, but I don't believe it will solve the problem and I don't believe it will do much for the American people."
Bingaman said he also opposes McCain's proposal.
Sen. Hillary Clinton, battling Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, told CNN's Larry King in an interview Monday that she would support the so-called "gas tax holiday" if the revenue loss to the highway trust fund were made up elsewhere. She didn't specify where the extra money would come from.
Domenici, a former Senate Budget Committee chairman, said that unless energy prices are brought under control through a mix of alternative fuel sources and increased domestic oil production, the U.S. economy could continue to suffer for years to come.
"I believe America's economic condition is easily traceable to the high price of oil, and I'm not sure we're going to get a robust, growing economy back very soon," Domenici said. "And I'm not sure when we get it back it's going to be stable as long as the price of oil continues to rise and we continue to gobble it up."
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