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US senator proposes 100 dollar handout against higher oil prices
By Charlotte Raab
AFP
WASHINGTON
Petroleumworld.com 04 28 06
The top US senator proposed Thursday that the government give Americans 100 dollars for gasoline as the skyrocketing cost of fuel for cars has lawmakers worried just six months ahead of mid-term elections.
Stipulating that the money be paid by August 30 -- just two months before the national polls -- Senate Republican majority leader Bill Frist proposed the 100 dollar rebate to consumers as part of a budget package now under consideration.
"Consumers are feeling pain at the pump, and Republicans are moving aggressively to address their concerns," Frist said.
The opposition Democrats quickly denounced the proposal, saying it was far from the average 500 dollars extra the gasoline (petrol) price will cost each household this year.
They also attacked Frist for using the gas price furor to re-propose a measure to allow oil drilling in a pristine Alaska wildlife reserve, which has been rejected numerous times by the body.
But Frist's proposals were just the most prominent of a number of similar reactions in Congress in hopes of softening the blow of fuel price hikes on consumers before more than 460 seats in both bodies are decided in the November election.
Americans have voiced dismay and anger as gas pump prices have soared just before summer when millions take to their cars for vacations.
The price of gas has risen about 16 percent in one month, and 30 percent in one year to a national average of around 2.91 dollars a gallon (3.8 liters), according to the Department of Energy.
Among various proposals to mitigate the impact, President George W. Bush and various lawmakers have called for investigations into price gouging by producers and gasoline stations.
"We've got people ... who are paying higher prices for their gasoline -- it's like a tax. The first thing is to make sure that nobody is getting cheated," Bush said Thursday during a visit to Biloxi, Mississippi.
Congress is discussing slashing tax breaks for big oil companies, including one passed last year that cost the government some two billion dollars.
Frist, meanwhile, argued for giving incentives to people to buy hybrid vehicles and to builders of oil refineries. Lack of domestic refinery capacity has been blamed by some for the rising gas price.
And Republicans in the House of Representatives are proposing to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to research that would help reduce US dependence on petroleum and develop hydrogen as a key energy source.
The money would be set aside for a series of prizes for breakthroughs in the alternative energy field.
For his part, Bush has also proposed increasing refining capacity, encouraging nuclear power and supporting alternative fuels development.
On Thursday he asked Congress to allow him to set fuel efficiency targets for cars and trucks, a Congressional power in the past.
Republican Senator Arlen Specter focused on oil companies as the culprits for the higher prices.
"We have allowed too many companies to merge together and reduce competition," he complained, proposing anti-trust laws that would cover not just US companies but oil firms worldwide.
"This legislation will help address the excessive concentration of power in the oil industry, as well as ensure the OPEC countries -- Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and others -- are subject to our anti-trust laws."
However, Federal Reserve head Ben Bernanke, speaking in Congress Thursday, cautioned that little could be achieved in the short term.
"Unfortunately, the high prices we're seeing are driven ... primarily by supply and demand conditions in the world today. We have substantial economic growth which generates increased demand and supply has been very insecure for a variety of reasons," Bernanke said.
"And unfortunately there's nothing, really, that can be done that's going to affect energy prices or gasoline prices in the very short run. This is a situation that's been building up for a long time."
AFP 28 04 06 0155 GMT
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