McCain Wants Congress To End Recess; Obama Decries Rival's Opposition To Energy Bill

August 5, 2008 9:56 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Monday his rival should urge Democratic-led Congress to convene and resolve the energy crisis. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), however, accused the Republican of refusing to support bipartisan efforts to reach a compromise.

Speaking at the National Label Company in Philadelphia, McCain reiterated his "all of the above" plan to attain energy independence and rebuked Congress for "doing nothing" about rising oil prices.

"Congress should come back into session, and I'm willing to come off the campaign trail. I call on Senator Obama to call on Congress to... Come off their vacation and address this energy challenge to America and don't leave until we do, Republican and Democrat joining together," the four-term senator said.

Obama released a statement responding to McCain's request, requesting that the Republican support his rival's energy plan and a bipartisan energy bill unveiled Friday.

"If Senator McCain is willing to pass a compromise that provides immediate relief to consumers in the form a $1,000 energy rebate and makes a serious investment in renewable energy, Senator Obama would be happy to join him in calling on Congress to return," Obama's spokesman Bill Burton said.

"But if he continues to reject any compromise that takes away tax breaks for the same oil companies that have given millions to his campaign, as he did on Friday, we'd rather not waste the American people's tax dollars," Burton added.

A bipartisan group of 10 senators led by Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) unveiled an alternative energy plan last Friday, just as Congress adjourned for its August recess.

The measure proposes to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico instead of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), which McCain supports. It also gives Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia the option to allow exploration at least 50 miles off their coasts.

Obama has said he remains "skeptical" that expanding offshore drilling will lower gas prices in the short or long-term, but that the bill is "an important step" toward energy independence.

The presumptive Democratic nominee plans to give out $1,000 rebate checks to working families from revenues earned from a profit tax on oil companies.

A McCain spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that he "applauds the bipartisan effort," but "cannot and will not support legislation that raises taxes."

McCain has made his pledge not to raise taxes a pillar of his energy policy. He has argued that his plan "uses every resource available," such as building more nuclear power plants, funding the development of hybrid cars and increasing domestic oil production through drilling in the OCS. His calls for Congress to hold a special session coincides with a floor protest being held by House Republicans that began with a six-hour talkathon Friday before an empty chamber.

Republicans have been demanding a vote lifting the ban on coastal exploration. Democrats have argued that that oil companies should first drill on the 68 million acres of land already leased to them and that releasing oil from the nation's stockpile would provide quick relief from rising energy costs.