President Bush Says Oil Reserves In Alaska Can Help Deflate Gas Prices

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - With an eye on fuel prices, President George Bush took aim at Congress during his press conference on Tuesday morning. Amidst the list of reforms he set forth, Bush encouraged lawmakers to support the exploration and refinement of domestic oil reserves.

Bush's announcement from the White House Rose Garden came on a day when gas prices topped out at just over $3.60 per gallon--a national average that has risen by $1.40 over the past 18 months.

"One of the main reasons for high gas prices is that global oil production is not keeping up with growing demand," Bush said.

He pointed to the oil that lies beneath Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as a source of relief for Americans who struggle to keep up with rising fuel prices.

ANWR could allow America to produce about one million new barrels of oil per day, Bush said, which translates to about 27 millions gallons of gas and diesel for American drivers who line up at the pump everyday.

Bush said the environmentally safe exploration of the Alaskan refuge would mean a 20 percent increase in oil that would likely result in lower gas prices. "And yet such efforts to explore ANWR have been consistently blocked," Bush said.

He also pointed to America's "lack of refining capacity" as an explanation for high gas prices. "It's been more than 30 years since America built its last new refinery," Bush said. "Yet in this area, too, Congress has repeatedly blocked efforts to expand capacity and build more refineries."

Though Bush offered up a number of suggestions to lower gas prices, he didn't say whether or not he'd support placing a summer suspension on the 18.4-cent federal tax that's tacked onto to every gallon of gas sold in the U.S.

"We'll look at any idea in terms of energy," Bush said. "Except, I will tell you this: that if Congress is truly interested in solving the problem, they can send the right signal by saying we're going to explore for oil and gas in the U.S. territories, starting with ANWR."