Will inflation from the dollar's devaluation prompt political posturing?
*Bloomberg, by Roger Runningen & Nadine Elsibai, June 18, 20085:
"President George W. Bush called on Congress to lift a 27-year-old
moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling, putting himself in the
middle of an election-year debate over U.S. energy policy.
By urging lawmakers to lift the federal ban and work with coastal
states to open up more areas of the outer continental shelf to
exploration, Bush is reinforcing a similar proposal endorsed yesterday
by John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Barack
Obama, the Democratic candidate, opposes taking such a step.
`For many Americans there is no more pressing concern than the price of
gas,' Bush said at the White House today. `Congress must face a hard
reality. Unless members are willing to accept gas prices at today's
painful levels or even higher, our nation must produce more oil.'
Expanded offshore exploration has faced opposition in Florida, which
will be a battleground in the presidential campaign. Still, rising oil
prices are creating a drag on the economy, and energy costs have become
a top issue for voters.
Administration officials rejected suggestions that the administration
was using the issue to harden political lines in an election year.
`Have you been to the pump?' Keith Hennessey, director of Bush's
National Economic Council, told reporters before Bush's remarks.
`Four-dollar gasoline has a way of changing people's perspective.'
Other Steps
In his statement, Bush called for lifting the ban on offshore oil
drilling, allowing exploration and drilling in a portion of the
19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, leasing of
federal lands to mine and extract oil from shale in the Green River
Basin of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, and accelerating the permit
process for new refineries.
Lawmakers last debated oil drilling in U.S. coastal areas in 2005 and
2006, when gasoline averaged $1.84 a gallon during the two-year period,
Bloomberg data showed."
*This information is solely a highlight of the opinion of a third-party publication and is incomplete. Please subscribe to this publication for the full and timely opinion of the author and call a Monex Account Representative for any additional up-to-date information. This is not an offer to buy or sell precious metals. Investors should obtain advice based on their own individual circumstances and understand the risk before making any investment decision.
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