Bush pushes fix for oil 'addiction'

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

CNN reports on the energy provisions in Bush's State of the State address:

"Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy," Bush told Americans, who are paying more than $2 a gallon for gasoline. "Here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. . . ."

On Monday, the Democratic leader in the Senate, Nevada's Harry Reid, said the country's oil addiction has "climbed steadily over the last four years and doubled the price of heat for our homes and gas for our cars because the vice president let big oil companies write our energy policy."

Reid said Bush has "lavished billions on big oil instead of investing in American technology and know-how that make us more energy independent."

Critics said energy legislation that Bush signed last summer did little to reduce energy prices or to reduce dependence on foreign oil. The bill provided billions in tax breaks for the energy industry.