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Obama Statement on Bipartisan Energy Plan

August 01, 2008

Chicago, IL - Below is a Statement from Senator Barack Obama on the 'Gang of Ten Bipartisan Energy Plan' to Reduce Gas Prices and Break our Addiction to Foreign Oil:

"For too long, partisan gridlock and special interest influence has blocked progress on some of the most urgent challenges facing the American people, and that is especially true when it comes to our energy crisis. That is why I welcome today's bipartisan effort as an important step in the process of reducing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, and why I look forward to September's bipartisan energy summit.

"Today's announcement includes many of the policies I've been fighting for during my time in the Senate and over the course of this campaign. It would repeal tax breaks for oil companies so that we can invest billions in fuel-efficient cars, help our automakers re-tool, and make a genuine commitment to renewable sources of energy like wind power, solar power, and the next generation of clean, affordable biofuels.

"Like all compromises, it also includes steps that I haven't always supported. I remain skeptical that new offshore drilling will bring down gas prices in the short-term or significantly reduce our oil dependence in the long-term, though I do welcome the establishment of a process that will allow us to make future drilling decisions based on science and fact.

"But I've always believed that finding consensus will be essential to solving our energy crisis, and today's package represents a good faith effort at a new bipartisan beginning. In the coming days, I'll be laying out additional steps I believe we must take to bring down gas prices for good and truly free ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil."

Barack Obama, Obama Statement on Bipartisan Energy Plan Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/291185

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