US 'hooked on foreign sources of energy': Bush

New York (Platts)--1Jun2004

US President George W. Bush said Americans are "hooked on foreign sources of
energy," but he blamed Congress for failing to pass comprehensive energy
legislation as the reason behind the sharp runup in oil prices. At an
impromptu news conference following his statement on the new Iraqi interim
government, Bush was asked what he could do in the face of higher oil prices.
"I can continue calling upon Congress to pass the energy bill, and to make
sure the American consumers are being treated fairly," said Bush. But he added
that "what you're seeing at the gas pump is something I've been warning
[about] for two years, and that is we are hooked on foreign sources of energy,
and that if we don't become less dependent on foreign sources of energy we
will find higher prices at our gas pumps. Had we drilled in ANWR [the Alaska
National Wildlife Refuge] back in the mid-90s, we would be producing an
additional million barrels a day which would be taking enormous pressure off
the American consumer."

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