IN THE NEWS - Bush Proposes Measures to Reduce Energy Costs

IN THE NEWS - Bush Proposes Measures to Reduce Energy Costs
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Saturday, April 30, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

PRESIDENT BUSH: "Millions of American families and small businesses are hurting because of higher gasoline prices. My administration is doing everything we can to make gasoline more affordable¹."

 
President Bush
President Bush, at his news conference at the White House Thursday night, reacting to concerns about energy prices. For now the United States will continue to ask oil-producing countries to produce more. But Mister Bush says Americans must also make better use of existing energy resources and develop new ones.

The president urged help for other nations to improve technology that could reduce worldwide demand for fossil fuels. And he urged Congress to pass his energy plan so he could sign it by summer.

Earlier in the week, Mister Bush proposed ways to reduce the long-term need for imported oil. In his words: "Our dependence² on foreign energy is like a foreign tax on the American people." Gasoline currently averages more than two dollars and twenty cents per gallon, or fifty-eight cents a liter.

Mister Bush proposes more refineries³ to process oil into fuel, and more nuclear power stations. He noted⁴ that no new refineries have been built in the United States since the nineteen seventies. There have been no new orders for nuclear power stations either since then.

Mister Bush says former military bases could be used to build oil refineries. He also proposed that the government provide risk insurance for nuclear power operators in case of trouble. Another proposal would increase federal power to approve new centers for liquefied natural gas.

The president also supports a tax credit for buyers of vehicles that use diesel⁵ fuel. And he supports oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Opponents worry about harm to the environment.

The Bush administration proposed an energy plan to Congress almost four years ago. The House of Representatives approved legislation on April twenty-first. This week the president called for the Senate to begin work soon on its version of the bill.

Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visited President Bush this week at his home in Crawford, Texas. The crown prince discussed a Saudi plan to increase oil production. But Saudi foreign affairs adviser⁶ Adel al-Jubeir noted that American refineries cannot process much more oil.

On Friday oil prices closed below fifty dollars a barrel for the first time in more than two months. Increased supplies have helped bring down prices from a high of more than fifty-eight dollars a barrel.

A report this week added to concerns about the effects of high energy prices on economic growth. The government says the United States economy expanded at a yearly rate of just over three percent from January through March. The increase was the smallest in two years.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

3 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。