Politics

White House: No Quick Energy Fix

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 30, 2001 / 2:47 PM EDT / CBS

As energy prices skyrocket, so does the political pressure to keep the lid on. The White House says a roll-back in the federal gasoline tax is a possibility, but Americans should not expect Band-Aid solutions from this president, reports CBS News Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts.

"His focus is on long-term solutions, not quick fixes," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. "Quick fixes don't work."

Instead, the White House used Monday's price spike to start the drum roll on its long-awaited national energy policy. President Bush was not giving up any details, but the core elements are becoming clear:

regulatory relief for construction of new refineries and pipelines;
new oil exploration on federal lands including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge;
an expedited approval process for new power plants;
and a new emphasis on coal and nuclear power to generate electricity.

The plan also calls for new initiatives to promote energy efficiency, renewable resources and conservation, but there will not be the belt tightening of the early '70s.

"That's a big 'no,'" said Fleischer. "It should be the goal of policymakers to protect the American way of life."

Click here to learn more about U.S. energy use.

The White House is also weighing a controversial proposal from the coal industry. If emission standards were relaxed, the industry said, it could deliver 20 percent more coal-fired power within three years.

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Environmental groups Monday denounced the White House Energy Task Force, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, as nothing more than a handout to Big Coal, Oil and Gas.

"The task force is essentially a cover," said Phil Clapp of the National Environmental Trust. "It's a way to go behind closed doors and sit down with oil and coal industry and utility lobbyists and come up with what is supposed to be a plan for the nation."

Republican lawmakers have their own concerns with the upcoming policy. Their complaint is that it focuses too much on the long term, offering little protection for next year's elections. They may apply pressure in Congress to add on some of those quick fixes rejected by the White House.