GOP to push for domestic oil drilling
TEXT OF STORY
Steve Chiotakis: Price of oil, meet price of gas at the pump. Oh yeah, they’ve known each other for a long, long time. And with both on the rise, it’s rekindling congressional efforts to boost domestic oil and gas production. From the Marketplace Sustainability Desk, Sam Eaton reports.
Sam Eaton: This morning, House Republicans plan to unveil a new energy plan they’re calling the “all of the above” solution for energy independence. Expansion of renewables like wind and solar are on the table.
But the proposal also calls for more nuclear power and domestic energy production. In other words, “Drill, baby, drill.” And Michigan Republican Fred Upton says the time is right. He says with gas prices on the rise Americans are going to want more than just green energy.
Fred Upton: We know that energy requirements in this country in the next 20 years are going to go up by 30 [percent] to 40 percent. We’ve got to be prepared.
But it’s still unclear whether republicans can rally enough support for domestic drilling. Gas prices are still a long way from last summer’s $4 peak. And environmentalists say today’s voters have a better understanding of the issues, and that the solution is more complicated than poking a few more holes in the ground.
I’m Sam Eaton for Marketplace.
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