Welch endorses compromise energy legislation

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(Host) Congressman Peter Welch says Congress needs to end the political gridlock over rising energy prices.

Welch backs a bipartisan plan that includes additional drilling options for oil companies, increased funding for renewable energy and an end to unregulated speculation on oil markets.

VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports.

(Kinzel) Welch says he’s concerned that if the political stalemate in Congress continues over energy policies, consumers will get little relief from rising energy costs. So Welch says he’s joining a bipartisan group of members of Congress who are seeking passage of a compromise energy plan.

While Welch strongly opposes Republican efforts to allow offshore coastal drilling, he does acknowledge that additional oil supplies are needed to help this country transition into a new energy future.

That’s why he says he backs a bill that allows the Bush administration to actively lease land in Alaska’s Naval Petroleum Reserve. This is land that’s located to the west of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve – a place that Welch and many other Democrats want to keep off limits to any new drilling.

Welch is also encouraging the major oil companies to develop million of acres of off shore federal leases that they currently have but aren’t using:

(Welch) "Obviously we need energy and oil is part of that mix but we also have to have a commitment to a new energy policy and the President really doesn’t have that he believes in oil and he thinks that’s the fuel of the future as well as the fuel of the past………there is an awful lot of political finger pointing which is not doing any bit of good for the American people."

Welch says money from the Alaska Naval Reserve should be used to help finance long term renewable energy programs:

(Welch) "Here’s something that I’m proposing number one if we start drilling in the Naval Reserve in Alaska which has been set aside for the American people to produce oil we take the revenues from that and dedicate it to a clean energy fund much of like we did in Vermont."

Joe Choquette represents the Vermont Petroleum Association. He supports efforts to open up off shore drilling sites but he says more production is only part of the answer:

(Choquett) "It looks like it’s going to require the parties to come together on their various positions as you know they way it’s portrayed right now the Republicans are for more drilling and the Democrats are for more renewables and the solution to this problem is a combination of all those things along with conservation, better fuel efficient cars and so on."

Congressman Welch also supports legislation that would ban the trading of energy futures in unregulated markets – it’s a move that he says could reduce oil prices by as much as 25%.

For VPR News I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.

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