WASHINGTON (1010 WINS) -- Governor Pataki offered a national energy plan Monday designed to drive down dependence on foreign oil, and energize his own presidential ambitions for 2008.
Pataki said the high price of gasoline threatens the nation's security as well as the economy, and offered a 10-year plan based principally on tax incentives for manufacturers to develop fuel-efficient cars and for energy producers to increase the availability of ethanol and other alternatives to oil.
``Foreign oil's undeniable ties to terror, to global instability and to continued environmental degradation makes immediate, decisive action to reduce our petroleum consumption absolutely critical,'' said the governor, who is winding down his third term in office.
A Republican who is considering a run for president, Pataki outlined his ideas for a new national energy plan in a speech to the National Press Club.
He proposed a 10-year program of incentives, research and construction to make alternatives to oil easily available across the country.
``We've reached a critical decision point in America: a decision between dependency and self-reliance, between vulnerability and freedom, between the polluting fuels of yesterday and the fuel alternatives of tomorrow,'' he said.
Pataki said the three key elements of his proposal are:
- Tax credits to encourage auto makers to produce more efficient vehicles. The goal would be to boost average fuel economy in the U.S. from about 21 miles per gallon to 34 miles per gallon, an improvement that would daily save the equivalent of a day's imports from the oil cartel OPEC.
- Promoting development of alternative fuels through a combination of tax incentives, legislative changes and loan guarantees to producers as well as encouraging research partnerships between universities, foundations and producers.
- Providing tax incentives and reforming the fuel distribution business to boost installation of renewable fuel pumps at service stations.
He also singled out oil-producing nations Iran and Venezuela as prime examples of why the United States should become self-reliant energy consumers, saying those two countries benefit economically from U.S. consumption of oil, and then use those profits to thwart U.S. goals.
During a question-and-answer session that followed the speech, Pataki said he favored opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration and declined to criticize the current administration's energy policy.
Asked about ANWR, a contentious issue in the Congress, Pataki said the current shutdown in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, which has caused an immediate spike in world oil prices, shows the need for drilling there.
``There's no question we have to expand domestic production of oil. I think you've just seen this afternoon what happened unless we have reliable additional sources that are convenient to the market. So yes, we need to open up more places for oil exploration and drilling,'' said Pataki.
As gas prices hover around $3 a gallon, many would-be presidential candidates have offered their own ambitious national energy plans as a kind of campaign calling card. Former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton have made separate pitches for reducing foreign oil consumption.
Compared to those two New Yorkers, Pataki barely registers in national polls of potential presidential candidates.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
