Congress, Bush Approach Oil Showdown

By DAN EGGEN and JONATHAN WEISMAN, The Washington Post
April 30, 2008

WASHINGTON — Soaring gasoline prices spilled over into Washington and the presidential race yesterday, as Congress moved toward a showdown with President Bush over legislation aimed at forcing oil companies to help ease the burden on consumers.

Mr. Bush, reaching back to the earliest days of his administration, resurrected GOP demands for new drilling in the Alaska wilderness, fewer restrictions on oil refineries, and other measures aimed at lowering fuel prices through higher production.

Democratic leaders shot back that Mr. Bush is out of touch with struggling Americans, as he pours money into the Iraq war at the expense of domestic priorities. Senate leaders promised to unveil gasoline price legislation by week's end.

Two oil giants, BP, and Royal Dutch Shell, announced record profits yesterday totaling $17 billion in the first three months of the year.

Exxon Mobil is expected to smash its own previous records for quarterly corporate profits tomorrow. Average gasoline prices, meanwhile, have surged to a new high of $3.60 a gallon.

On the presidential campaign trail, Senators McCain and Clinton have both backed the idea of a summer tax holiday for gasoline and diesel. Senator Obama denounced the idea as a political gimmick that would cost thousands of jobs and save drivers $28 at most.

Mr. Bush declined to take a position on the concept of a gas-tax holiday, saying he was "open to any ideas" to deal with rising fuel prices.

But in a news conference in the Rose Garden, he focused on controversial, longer-term proposals aimed at loosening environmental or regulatory restrictions on domestic oil exploration and production, and he also advocated building additional nuclear plants.

"If there was a magic wand to wave," Bush said, "I'd be waving it, of course. ... But there is no magic wand to wave right now. It took us a while to get to this fix."