Bush�s alternative energy R&D plan absent from key economic report

Three Democrats have contacted the White House Council of Economic Advisers to ask why the group’s new annual report fails to mention President Bush’s plan to free the US from dependence on Middle East oil through investments in technologies such as hybrid vehicles, electric cars and fuel cells. These missing details were all key elements of Bush’s State of the Union speech last month.

In a February 16 letter to the council, Reps. Henry Waxman, D-CA, Marcy Kaptur, D-OH, and Jim Davis, D-FL, ask why the document, released on February 13, differs so significantly from the President’s energy goals articulated in his State of the Union Address.

“While the CEA Report does describe many policy proposals supported by the Administration, it does not appear to reflect the President’s State of the Union energy plan,” the lawmakers state. “We request an explanation of how we are to interpret this report, and whether the American people should dismiss the President’s State of the Union Address, as apparently the Council of Economic Advisers has.”

The report does, however, refer to its support for a number of the Administration’s energy policies, including greater access to oil and natural gas resources and opening a small portion of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge for this purpose, noting that the US holds only 2 percent of the world’s total proven oil reserves. By comparison, Saudi Arabia holds 21 percent of the oil, while Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates are at 10, 9 and 8 percent, respectively.



Other sites House Government Reform Democratic press release (PDF). Council of Economic Advisers annual report (PDF).