President Bush argued Wednesday that consumers paying high gas prices won't stand for inaction on energy legislation, even though some lawmakers say nothing they can do would immediately ease the problem.
"My advice is, they ought to keep this in mind: Summer's here, temperatures are rising and tempers will really rise if Congress doesn't pass an energy bill," said Bush, who pressured lawmakers to get an energy bill to his desk before the August recess.
"The American people know that an energy bill will not change the price of gas immediately," he said, "but they're not going to tolerate inaction in Washington as they watch the underlying problems grow worse."
The president outlined his four-point plan to reduce high energy prices:
Promote conservation; produce and refine more crude oil in the United States;
develop alternative sources of energy, such as renewable ethanol or biodiesel;
and help other nations, such as China, to become more energy-efficient to reduce global demand for energy.
He said it was time for the United States to expand its nuclear power capacity.
[Excerpt] -By Nedra Pickler, Associated Press Writer
June 16, 2005