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Udall Wants President To Suspend Oil Purchases

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May 6, 2008 7:43 pm US/Mountain

Udall Wants President To Suspend Oil Purchases

Reporting
Mike Hooker
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) ― The continuing increase in gas prices is enough to make anyone cringe, but a congressman from Colorado says he has an idea that could help consumers save.

Right now the average price for gas in Colorado is $3.51. That's .10 cents less than the national average of $3.61.

Rep. Mark Udall has a plan he thinks will ease rising costs. Udall says for immediate relief at the pump, the U.S. government needs to stop buying up the nearly 70,000 barrels of oil the country puts into reserves every day. He says the president should postpone stockpiling oil in the strategic reserve.

"Immediately, we ought to cease filling the strategic petroleum reserve and redirect that oil onto the market," Udall said. "We've done it in the past under the leadership of President Clinton and this President Bush and we saw almost an immediate drop in price from somewhere in the range of .15 to .25 cents per gallon."

Former Rep. Bob Schaffer is running against Udall for Colorado's open Senate seat. He says many people are looking to the strategic reserve to cut oil prices.

"The federal government, without a doubt, generates a significant amount of demand just on its own and I think it's rational for the country to ask the question, 'Should the government continue being a consumer at this point in time?'" Schaffer said.

Udall said long-term changes should include a proposed crackdown on price gouging. He's looking at ways to suspend the tariff on ethanol imports and increase oil and gas drilling. He wants to push renewable energy and stop subsidizing oil and gas with certain tax credits.

"Those subsidies I'd like to see directed into renewable fuels; wind power and solar power and all the opportunities we have in Colorado," Udall said.

Udall said the gas tax holiday proposed by Hillary Clinton and John McCain would actually hurt the economy. Schaffer said he likes the tax holiday simply because it cuts taxes.

"If I were to vote on it, I'd vote yes, but keep in mind, let's be realistic about this," Schaffer said. "There is no long-term solution in a tax holiday."

Schaffer said one thing is clear about gas prices: "This is going to be a huge issue in the context of the campaign."

Despite calls from Republicans and Democrats, the president recently said that strategy won't cut gas prices like supporters say, and the country needs to continue building the oil stockpile.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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